How I met your Grandmother
by MedusaLegend
Summary: Belgium has found an old book which belonged to Ancient Rome. She decides to read it with Romano as a bedtime story. This will be the story of "How Grandpa Rome met many European countries's parents and grandparents, and especially Belgium's ones". Rated T because Ancient Rome invades other countries. Based on Julius Caesar "Gallic Wars".
1. Prologue

**I always wondered how Hiramuya would draw the adventures of Rome during the Gallic wars. Well, he has so much ideas to think about it could take forever. So, I decided to write my own fanfiction about that. This story will be based on the book writen by Julius Caesar "comments on the Gallic Wars". And since I am a huge fan of my country's character, I warn you: her own grandmother "Gallia Belgica" will appear a lot.**

**I decided a long time ago that the "Belgica" that Ancient Rome used to know was my country grandmother. She had a territory looking a little like the "Spanish Netherlands" of the beginning of 16th century, but she disappeared at the same time than Roman Empire. Just as for North and South Italy, there were a lot of little kingdoms, duchies and counties which unified during the 14th century. I think Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg were born at that time. I may explain why in one of the following chapters.**

**So: there will be some parts referring to the 16th century, with Belgium giving a few explanations to Romano, and the other parts will be from Rome's point of view during the Gallic Wars. Enjoy the story!**

**ps: English is not my native language. An American friend (thank you Castor) helped me checking the spelling, but I must apologise if there is still some mistakes.**

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**How I met your Grandmother**

**Prologue**

_- "Romano, are you ready to go to bed?"_

_- "No, you jackass! I am not going to bed before that tomato bastard comes back!"_

_- "Don't force me to break the door!"_

_We are around the years 1530. The king Charles the Great, also known as Charles V of Spain, or Charles Quint in French, rules the Low Countries, composed of the futures nations of Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium, the kingdom of Spain, just as Sicilia and Southern of Italy. He is also the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. He was the most powerful man in the world and rules an empire where the sun never set. As the most powerful nation of the union, Spain was always busy with international affairs. He was travelling to the new world, discovering strange new civilisations and golden treasures. He also was fighting with France, who wanted the young "pupils" for himself, and his ally Ottoman Empire. He was almost never home and when he left for a long time, he asked the Low Countries, his "Spanish Netherlands", to keep Romano at their house, in the huge castle of the Coudenbergh in Brussels._

_But even if Belgium gave the cute little kid her best snacks, Netherlands was patient and kind, and Luxembourg played with him, Romano was often sad. And this evening, Romano had locked himself in a small dressing room, because he didn't want his fellows to see him crying. Netherlands didn't know what to do anymore, because the only solution he could think of was breaking the door and scaring the young Italian. Neither Belgium nor Spain would approve that method._

_His sister came to the rescue, carrying a huge book in her arms._

_- "I will take care of him. Can you go watch for Luxembourg?"_

_Netherlands nodded his head and left without showing his relief._

_Belgium sat on the floor next to the door and with a feline smile, she asked:_

_- "Romano?"_

_- "Belgium?"_

_- "Do you want me to read you a story?"_

_- "I won't leave this room, you jer…"_

_- "It is fine. You don't need to get out in order to listen to the story."_

_- "What kind of story are you planning to read?"_

_- "Actually, I just got one of your grandfather's books: "The Gallic Wars", by Julius Caesar."_

_- "Uh? His favourite boss? He wrote a book? I thought he was just a war leader."_

_- "He was a war leader, and he wrote a book about the conquest of my Grandmother and her sisters. I guess we can say this book talks about "How Rome met my Grandmother". Do you want me to read it?"_

_Romano stayed silent a few moments but finally, he said: "Is the book in Latin?"_

_Belgium giggled._

_- "No, it is a translation in actual French. Netherlands made it for me in one of his printing factories"._

_After a few seconds, the young lady heard the little boy say: "Okay, go on…"_


	2. How I decided to visit them

**This chapter is based on the very first parts of the book. Caesar describes the differents parts of the area: he talks about the Belgians, the Aquitains and the Celtics. He didn't mention the area in the Southern Alps and France. This area was colonised by Rome a long time before and used to be called "Narbonensis". I am trying to focus on the book, but they are some details I can't forget. I am used to call all those formers civilisations by their french name, but I will try to find their translation in Latin and English.**

**Enjoy the chapter and please review.**

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**Chapter one: How I decided to visit them.**

I stared at the person I was talking to. He wasn't young anymore. He was already 40 years old, and people who live that long are supposed to be wise. But that man was crazy, completely mad.

- "I can do it. I just need you with me. Just think of all the things we will see, all the treasures we will bring here, all the slaves we will capture, the ladies you will meet…"

Well, the ladies WERE the problem. That man wasn't there when one of them invaded my city in 390 BC. She had burned my house as I barricaded in my capitol. I escaped her once thanks the holly gooses of Juno, but in the end I had to surrender. She stole my innocence while saying "VAE VICTIS". So, I wasn't yet ready to see her again. But that man was planning to submit her with all her sisters without even considering the fact that the girl wasn't the worse of them.

- "You are not the same country anymore, lord Rome. You won fierce battles against Carthage. You are strong now. You have a disciplined army and Caius Julius Caesar. You must show Gaul you aren't scared of her anymore".

- "I never said I was scared of her!"

- "So what?" he asked.

- "Please, I just hate to remember what she did to me with that bronze scale and her sword. No man should ever go trough that."

- "It is the occasion to switch that bad memory with a new one, far much pleasant. Just imagine her and her sisters being your prisoners…"

That guy was definitively crazy but… I liked him so much. He just knew how to talk to me. And a little adventure in the territory of the Gallic sisters sounded exciting.

I quickly came back on my feet. Did that Julius Ceasar really know who he was planning to conquer? Caesar explained:

- "They are actually 4 Gallic sisters. One lives near the Atlantic and is called Aquitania. there is one in the North, near that Germania guy, I don't really remember her name. But the most important is the one we call "Gaul". She calls herself "Celtic". And that's her who…"

- "I know her already, no need to explain!"

- "And then, there is Narbonensis who lives close to us. And you don't have any problem with her."

- "Yes, she's lovely. If only her sisters were like her."

- "I heard the bravest of them was the one in the north. She's a totally uncivilised barbarian and is a friend of that Germania guy."

I nodded. So, Caesar had made a little investigation before presenting me his plans.

- "Lord Rome, please follow me in the conquest of Gaule, asked Caesar."

- "Yeah, fine, I will… if you manage to convince the Senate. I can't do anything without their approbation."

- "It is fine. I already know what I will tell them."

- "And what is it?"

- "That the boss of Helveti is planning to expand his territory and that we have to protect our allies."

- "Helveti? That weird and lonely guy in the mountains?"

- "Yes, himself."

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_- "And who in the hell are all those people?"_

_Belgium looked at Romano. He got out of the dressing room when she was talking about Narbonensis. He sat next to her to listen to the story._

_- "Helveti is the father of Switzerland. Gaul is France mother. Germania is the father of Holy roman Empire and all theses little countries in the north"_

_- "I remember Narbonensis a little, but I was so young. And what about the others?"_

_- "Aquitania was the nurse of England, but in the end, she returned to France's house. I don't know what happened to her. I was just born. And finally… the Gaul's sister who lived in the north, the bravest and wildest of all, was my grandmother."_


	3. How I fell in love

**Chapter two: How I fell in love.**

I should have guessed it was far too easy.

Helveti wasn't as scary as I thought. He really tried to frighten me in order to force me to allow him to cross others tribes territory. He had burned everything at his home to show up his determination. After a little battle, I send him back there. He will be busy for a long time to re-build everything. I don't think he will try to leave his home again.

Just as I was showing off to Narbonensis, I received a letter from her older sister: THE sister. Gaul wanted to meet Caesar and me in an oppidum not far away from our camp. The general was delighted with this news. He thought he had already earned Gaul respect. I just couldn't feel the same way. I knew Gaul. She wasn't the kind of girl falling in love with someone just because he had won a battle. Caesar could say whatever he wanted; I just knew her heart wouldn't be so easy to conquer.

So during the month of June, I arrived to an oppidum where all the leaders of Gaul's different tribes gathered. They explained Caesar they had a problem with Germania. I decided to visit the city while they were explaining the details to my general. En then, I felt that someone wrapped his arms around me.

- "Caught you, Rome! Well, well, you're so… so grown up. You still had that adolescent body the last time I hugged you like this."

I shivered. I had been captured by Gaul. I knew I shouldn't have come. She whispered in my ears.

- "Why are you so nervous? Why don't we go to my house? I have some drinks which will help you relax."

- "Please let me… don't hurt me…" I begged.

- "Come on, why should I hurt such a big boy like you? Let's go eat something to my house."

And without releasing me, she dragged me into a cute little stone house. I must admit it was better than I thought. It was clean. There were flowers everywhere. I could also smell something delicious coming from the marmite on the fire. But of course, my villa was far much more comfortable and luxurious. Gaul finally released me to go check what was in her marmite. I looked at her. She hadn't changed since "VAE VICTIS". She was tall, with generous curves and wonderful long golden hair shining in the sun. She was pretty as a wheat field ready to be harvested. I remembered the words of Caesar: "Just imagine her being your prisoner." I wished I could bring her to my villa and put some roman cloths and jewels on her, and golden chains to her wrists. En then I would bring her to my private bath… But there was no way she would let me do that. She would use one of her specials torture techniques and I wouldn't be a man anymore.

- "Have a seat. I will bring you some of my best barley beer."

- "Why… why did you bring me here?"

- "To discuss, what else? I told you that in the letter."

- "I don't believe you. These lasts centuries, you were only interested in plundering me."

- "Well, maybe I can change my mind. We may have a new kind of relationship."

Did I hear well? She was proposing me …

She brought me a huge beer mug and a fruit basket.

- "I am sorry for what I did to you when you were young."

She was even apologizing. I just couldn't understand. That wasn't my scary Gaul who used to torture me anymore. What did that hide?

- "What happened to you Gaul? I don't recognize you anymore. You never knew mercy."

She had a bright smile.

- "Let's say that… I now understand what it looks like to be plundered and invaded."

And I understood. The tribes' leaders told Caesar they had a problem with Germania. He invaded Gaul and plundered her cities. She needed my help to get rid of him. Was he that strong she couldn't handle him by herself?

- "You will understand when you will see him."

- "What do you want me to do?"

- "Kick his ass! Force him to cross the Rhine and never come back".

- "And what do I get in return? I won't fight him just for you pretty eyes. My boss will ask you to deliver a lot of hostages and that your different tribes obey him. You also will have to provide us with food".

She smiled. I realised I told her a compliment.

- "That can be arranged. I am sure we can work together".

And she gave me one big red apple. The fruit was tasty, juicy. Her leg touched mine… and I realised I wanted Gaul. I wanted her baldy.

A few weeks later, Caesar legions faced the barbarian army of Germania. And we understood what the problem was. The soldiers of Germania were like him: blond, scary and tall… much taller than us, Romans. At the first sight, I knew he would be a formidable opponent. I felt my blood boiling. I liked strong opponents. I liked challenges. I really started to like the project of Caesar.

And the battle began. At first, our foot soldiers collided with the enemy's phalanxes. I fought Germania with my sword. We were of equal strength. After that, Caesar ordered the cavalry to charge. We quickly got the advantage. The Germans retreated. Germania got out of my sight.

- "Gaul!" I called.

She arrived. She also was on the battlefield. Her shield and her bronze sword were covered with blood. My brave little warrior…

- "Give me a horse! I have to pursue the enemy".

She nodded. A few seconds later, some soldiers brought me a fine stallion. I got into the saddle and started to ride after the Germans. But at the end of the day, I still hadn't found Germania.

- "It is fine! We got them! We killed a lot of soldiers, captured the leader's family and made a lot of slaves. It is my second victory during the summer, It is a total success!" my favourite general exclaimed, delighted.

Yes, we had a sensational victory and I was proud of him. We got a huge booty and Gaul was now my ally. I was just disappointed I couldn't fight Germania more.

- "When we go back to the city, you will be carried in triumph". I told him.

- " Yes, but I am not planning of going home now."

- " Why?" I asked. But I had an idea about what he was going to say.

- " My final goal is to become your only ruler. Theses victories aren't enough."

I was not certain I liked that. Did he want more of Gaul and her sisters?

After the meeting, I left the roman camp in order to go back to Gaul's house where she was waiting for me. But on the way, I heard a strange noise. I turned my head. Germania was at ten meters of me, on a horse, and he was watching me fiercely with his cold blue eyes.

- "Great! I was looking for you everywhere, dude. It's nice of you to come back." I said bravely.

I still had my sword. If he wanted to fight, I was ready.

Sadly, he only wanted to threaten me.

- "The war isn't over yet, Roman. The Gallic sisters are mine."

And he disappeared in the darkness of the night.

I sighted. As I expected, this guy hadn't given up the idea to invade Gaul. I would fight him again. I was certain of it. I decided to go check on my new girlfriend. When I arrived at her home, I knocked gently on the door. "Gaul?"

- "Come in, Rome."

I opened the door. My new girlfriend was waiting for me on her bed, and she was… only… wearing garlands of flowers. I am sure even the goddess Venus had never done that before.

_- "Why are you blushing, Belgium?" Romano asked._

_- "Because…"_

_* "Netherlands, I am pretty sure this story with the garlands of flowers wasn't in the Latin version. I am going to kill you!"*_

_- "… I didn't expect you grandfather to be so… romantic". She lied._

_- "So, Grandpa fell in love with France's mother, they married and lived happy ever after? Is that all"?_

_Belgium sighed._

_- "That's only the beginning of the story, Romano. The most important chapter is coming."_

_- "Uh?"_

_- "Your grandfather meets my grandmother in the next chapter."_


	4. How I met the bravest one

**Hello everyone,**

**new OC appears in this chapter: Gallia Belgica (the Benelux's grandmother) and there will a mention of Burgundy, their father (and France's brother). The story isn't meant to offend anyone. Please don't be angry if you think the grandparents should have been different.**

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**Chapter three: How I met the bravest one**

I remember all the pretty ladies I met in my life. There is Greece. She is the most sophisticated woman in the world. She is as pretty as a work of art. She smells of stones, sea and olive oil.

After, there is the enigmatic Egypt. She has long dark hairs and mysterious eyes. She smells of warm sand, cosmetic and magic.

Right there, in my bed, I had a golden wheat field. She smelled of bread, apples and fertile fields. She was the most beautiful country in the world. How couldn't I love her? How could I hurt her? When she woke up, I gave her my best smile and a kiss on her cheek.

"What are you going to do now, Rome? Are you going back?"

"I should, but …"

"But?"

"I want to know you better, and so do my general."

Are you going to stay?"

"You don't want me to?"

"Rome, I am glad you're here with me, but your place should be with your folk in that huge city. And I should go see my tribes too."

"Stay here."

I hold her in my arms. I didn't want that wonderful morning to end.

"I have to go. Many things are going to change now that Germania is gone."

I remembered the rider last night. He managed to come so close to her house without anybody noticing.

"Gaul… What if… he comes back?"

She didn't answer. Her smile was gone. I figured that blond giant was still haunting her nightmares.

"I talked about it with my general yesterday. Maybe you should let us stay with our army and allow us to build some fortified camps near the border. Otherwise, we may arrive too late if he attacks you again."

She stayed silent and got up. She was so beautiful in the light of the morning. Her long golden curls were shining. Her skin looked so soft (and I knew it was). She covered her lovely body with a linen tunic and a wool cloak. When she finished getting dressed, she looked at me.

"My tribes have different opinions on that matter. We need to think about it. Until then you… better not behave as conquerors."

"But…"

"Just get dressed already! I am going to prepare breakfast. Hurry to go back to your camp."

Half an hour later, I was back to my camp. A soldier called me. Caesar knew where I had spent my night and he was a little bit worried about that.

"I don't mind you make friend or even more with her, but you should be careful with what you say to her. She might use the informations against us."

"Why would she? We are her allies and her protectors."

"Don't be so foolish. You were her ally as long as she needed one. Now, she will try to get rid of you. Some of her tribes are already thinking of…"

"Don't say that! She does respect me."

"It is not respect I want. It is submission. She won't be a conquered land as long as her tribes' leaders and she don't acknowledge our superiority."

I couldn't answer to that. I knew he was right, but I felt bad for Gaul.

A few days later, there was a huge meeting with the tribes' leaders. Caesar wanted to give them a very direct speech.

"From now on, I want you to deliver me hostages and supplies for my army."

"And why?"

Everyone turned to the young lady who had spoken. She looked like Gaul very much. She looked 18 years old and had an amazing golden mane hold in a ponytail. Caesar looked at me, furious. He asked me why I had let a cocky little maid enter his meeting. I didn't know. I didn't notice her until she spoke. The girl continued.

"Why in the world should we become your underlings?"

"Because we will protect you from the Germans." I tried to answer.

"I fight Germania almost every day and he doesn't scare me. And so do you!"

She said "Germania". Could that girl be…?

"Us, Belgian, will never obey short men from the south's orders! We won't give you any slave or tribute".

And the blond lioness left the gathering, followed by her men.

Furious, Caesar dissolved the meeting.

"Who was that girl?" The general shouted.

"She is my little sister. Gaul explained. She lives north of me, after the Marne and the Seine rivers".

Caesar walked around his huge tent. He felt humiliated. He had been despised by a teenager in front of the tribes' leaders.

"Why did you let her in?"

He was asking the question to both of us.

Gaul explained, "She told me she wanted to know your intentions because she considered negotiating with you. It looks like she doesn't want it anymore. And I must admit she has a point. We didn't get rid of Germania to fall under someone else dictatorship."

"Fine! We will see what can be done. You may go!"

Gaul left. I could see by her face she wasn't happy at all.

"Lord Rome!" He called me.

I sighted. I also knew what he was about to say.

"We must solve the problem of that Belgian girl now!"

Two weeks later, we reached the MarneRiver. I felt bad for the girl. I didn't want to harm her, but I couldn't let her do whatever she wanted. She could turn Gaul against me. The first days, we didn't saw any Belgian. They were hiding in the forest, avoiding us. I remembered what Narbonensis had told me about her sister in the North. She told me she had no manners and that she liked to pick up fights without any warning. She didn't have any big cities but fortress on the top of cliffs. She also said the girl had boar pets.

"Boars?"

"Yes, and you don't want to see them charging you."

Suddenly, I really didn't like the idea of wandering in the forest. I started hearing a lot of strange sounds all around me. Caesar rode nest to me.

"I don't like that. Install the camp on a cleared area. I will ask the army to move faster".

Two hundred riders turned around to look for the others legions. I ordered my companions to build a camp on the top of a cliff near the Sabis river. As they set up the tents, I watched the other side of the river. There was a huge forest on a hill. It was too thick to see inside of it. If the Belgian army was hiding in it, we wouldn't see it before the last minute, after they climb our own hill. I had to check that, and I preferred to do it alone. If the golden lioness was there, I thought I could convince her to surrender.

"Continue to dig trenches". I ordered to my soldiers. And I left the camp discreetly. The sun was setting. It was getting dark. No-one could see me.

I crossed the river without any problem. It was little deep and the current was weak. I entered the forest. I couldn't see to five meters in front of me. Everything was so quiet. I could still hear the noises coming from the camp, but no sound from any animals or birds. That was a little creepy. Something told me I should better go back to the camp, but I wanted to discover the secret of theses woods. After two minutes, I heard a very scary noise. Some big creatures were coming toward me. They sprang from a bush…. boars.

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_"And I will continue the story tomorrow. Now is time to go to bed." Belgium said with a smirk. _

_"NO WAY!" A tense Romano shouted. "What happened to Grandpa? Were the boars belonging to your granny?"_

_"I will tell you that tomorrow. You will sleep first."_

_"It is tyranny!"_

_Romano tried to negotiate a new chapter but Belgium held on. Even his cutest face didn't work. _

_"Save your secrets weapons for Spain. I am as heartless as my granny". She said, still smirking. _

_Romano surrendered. He went to the bedroom he shared with Luxembourg, followed by Belgium. They found Netherlands sitting next to the bed of the youngest Low Country. Luxembourg was already asleep and his big brother seemed to mount guard. _

_"He wanted me to watch for the squirrels." He explained. _

_"Which squirrels?" Her sister asked._

_"The ones which always pee in my bed." Romano explained. "No one is safe from them, and since Luxembourg shares his room with me, he's even more in danger."_

_Romano tried once again to earn time and hints about Belgium's story with his squirrel's thread. But the lady already had the perfect answer. "Don't worry. My granny used to control all the animals of the forest. If you're a good boy, she will hold the squirrels in the forest."_

_"I knew it! The boars were hers!"_

_"Romano, go to bed now!" Netherlands said with a scary look. The little boy gave up._

_When the two oldest siblings left the room, Belgium said, "He's so cute! No wonder Spain is so crazy about him."_

_"If you say so…"_

_"Now, big bro… about the "Gallic Wars", what's that story with the garlands of flowers?"_

_"Oh, that…"he blushed a little._

_"Why did you invent such a weird thing?"_

_"It wasn't me, it was Dad!"_

_"Dad? Please, he…"_

_"It was in his notes. That was him who translated the "Gallic Wars" in French. You know I don't speak it well. He had added that part."_

_"Why would he?"_

_"Please, he's still Gaul's son, just as France. And he was convinced her "little stone house" was near his Bibracte oppidum. After all, the battle of Rome against Helveti was called the "Bibracte's battle"."_

_" Okay, fine, stop talking about France and Dad."_

_He felt a little guilty. He knew he should avoid the topic of their father… that was too painful for Belgium._

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**An oppidum is a celtic fort. They were build on the top of hills and were surrounded by huge walls of earth and timber. The most famous of them are Bibracte (in Burgundy) and Alesia (also in Burgundy, and I will talk about it later). You can still visit them.**


	5. How I captured her

**Hello everyone. I thank you all for your support.**

**I had problem writing this chapter. There was so much thinks to say that the chapter became far too long. So I decided to split it in two. Chapter 4 will only have the "Rome's point of view". The comments of Belgium and romano will feature in the 5th episode.**

**My english corrector is a little busy thoses days so I am not certain the spelling is really ok. Please forgive me. As soon as she checks it. I will edit the chapter.**

**Enjoy the reading!**

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**Chapter four: How I captured her.**

The boars charged me. Without any hesitation, I climbed a tree. That was a narrow escape. I could feel the breath of the animals on my legs. I heard more and more noise.

"Well done, my sweeties. You got him!"

That voice… I looked down. The blond lioness was talking to the animals. So, they really were her pets. Other persons appeared.

"Do we kill him, my lady?"

"I will handle him by myself. Take care of the soldier's troop in their camp."

And I saw more and more persons moving in the woods. There was an entire army hiding there. They were about to attack my fellows and I was stuck on this tree. I had to do something.

"Hem, Wildcat, could you please not do that?"

"Do what?"

"Well, please don't attack the camp and let me go."

"Why should I have mercy? You are invading my territory. It is self-defence."

"Wildcat, you won't defeat me just by destroying one camp. You will just make things worse."

"Don't call me Wildcat! And by destroying your troops, I will show Gaul and the other tribes you're not invincible."

That was really bad. She was right. If I lost here, Gaul might consider forgetting her alliance with me. The conquest would be far much more difficult and violent. I hated to hurt pretty ladies, but I also hated to loose. I got an idea.

"How can I call you if it can't be "Wildcat"?"

"You don't need to give me a name, since I am going to kill you."

"Please, "Belgian girl" doesn't sound great. You need a proper name."

"I don't care."

"I got an idea. I am going to call you "Belgica, Gallia Belgica". Do you like it?"

"I won't like anything coming from you!"

She was quite stubborn. If I wasn't worried about my fellows, I might have found her cute. But at that moment, I had to find a weakness in her armour.

"So… are you in some kind of relationship with Germania?"

"Just shut up! You don't know anything about me and you will never try to know me better! The only think that matters you is to bring slaves and treasures to your capital in order to make your own folk love you more. You don't care of other people and you don't care of my sister. One day, you will make a slave of her."

"You… don't understand! It is Caesar who wants to become my new boss! He would…"

I stopped. I realised I said something I was going to regret.

"Caesar, hey? So, if we kill him today, we would get rid of you?"

And f… She was quiet sharp. I started hearing some battle's noises. The Belgians had started attacking my camp on the other side of the river.

"I know you have only one legion here. The others will be there tomorrow and they will be too late."

Tomorrow? That was her first mistake. She thought I was leading some scout soldiers and that we were alone. But Caesar and two other legions would be there in less than three hours. I just had to win some time.

"Belgica…"

"Don't call me Belgica!"

"Please, that's a cute name."

"I am not a cute girl!"

"Indeed… but you're fun. The last time we met, you said you used to fight Germania everyday…"

"The Rhine is our natural border, but it's only a river… and you can cross a river with boats or bridges. Yes, he tries to steal my stocks, but I always kick his ass."

"Please, I know what happens when a nation plunders another one. Your big sister plundered me a lot these lasts centuries. He really didn't do anything more than "fighting" you?"

"You really are a scum! What I do with Germania doesn't concern you."

There, I was quiet astonished. I knew women since quite a long time to know when they were hiding a secret adventure. That pretty child was closer to Germania than I thought.

"Belgica, listen… if you ask for my protection, he won't try to cross the Rhine ever again, I swear it."

"I don't need your protection. I can fight him by myself. If my sister had asked me for help, I would have saved her."

"But you didn't! I did."

She sighted in exasperation.

"Enough chat. I am going to kill you."

I was in big trouble. If I could climb the tree, she could do it too. But instead, she started cutting down the tree. She had a powerful axe and huge strength, because the tree shook dangerously at the first strike. I had to find something. I still had to hold on three ours. And if I could survive her, my soldiers would do the same with the Belgian army.

"Hey! I thought you had respect for oak trees. Why are you cutting it down?" I shouted.

"I do have respect for oak trees, but you're not in an oak tree. You are in a chestnut tree. You can't even make the difference between them?

"Well, it is night. But so, why are the oak trees sacred for you? It is a sacred tree for me too. I also have many other sacred plants and trees. I should tell you the story of Apollo and Daphne…"

"You talk far too much!" And she stroke again. I was certain the tree would fall down in two or three strikes.

"But I am sure you would love the story…"

"I already told you I wouldn't like anything coming from you."

"Tell me about you then. I want to know your culture better. Tell me about the oak tree and your religion…"

New strike. I was certain the next one would be the last. I should better try to fight her on the ground.

"Alright, you won! I come down. Leave that poor tree alone."

And I jumped on the ground. In my relief, the boars didn't attack. They were waiting for their master orders. As soon as I got up, I had to avoid Belgica's axe. If she touched me, I was dead. And the battle started. I must admit she was quite good. I only could defend myself. But I didn't need to attack. I just had to hold on and believe in humans.

Two hours took place like this. She attacked furiously and I dodged her. That was exhausting, but I could see she was even more tired than me. She even seemed injured. How? I never managed to carry her a single blow. The time went by and as I was running, I managed to have a look on my soldiers on the other side of the river. The fences weren't finished but the soldiers managed to protect themselves somehow. The Belgians warriors didn't succeed to invade the camp and were killed one after another. I understood. The link between nation and his people was working on Belgica. She underwent more losses. At that moment, I knew I was going to win. I was sure she knew it too, but she didn't give up.

I admired her. Continuing a fight you know you won't win is very brave. I would love to have such soldiers in my army.

"Belgica, give up now while you still can. I don't want to harm you anymore."

"You didn't even manage to touch me a single time!"

"Your army is dying on the other side of the river. If you give up now and try to negotiate, you still might save your population. Please, Caesar is perfectly able to kill you!"

"You admit it! You are just here to make slaves and plunder our oppida. And when you will have destroyed al our tribes, you will replace them with your fat lords, their dogs and slaves."

"They are not all fat!"

"They spend their time eating on their beds. It is just a miracle you aren't as fat as them!"

"You are insulting my republic with these wrongs stereotypes."

"It is the true!"

"And what about your human sacrifices? Some people say that not so long ago, you used to craft giant dolls you fulfilled with humans and set fire to it."

She burst in laugh. That was quiet unexpected, but her laugh was so pretty… I so wished she wasn't my enemy.

"About these sacrifices…"

"Wait a second, is that true?"

I fell sick. I remembered Cartago and the rumours he used to sacrifice young children. When I fought with him, some people told me he had that awful tradition, and I really believed them. When I destroyed his capital, I didn't found any proof he really murdered little kids for his gods, but it still haunted my nightmares.

"I do that when there is an epidemic…"

"YOU STILL DO THAT?"

What was wrong with her?

"There is a little mistake. The bodies your merchants saw in the dolls were already dead."

"Sorry?"

"We craft a "doll" when there is an epidemic. We place the dead bodies inside of it and set fire to it in order to destroy the disease with them. Don't you dare tell me you don't cremate your dead?"

"No… I do… I do use cremation, but we have different rituals."

"Your problem is that you think you're the only civilised nation in the world and despise all the others."

"Of course not!"

I was happy we had started some cultural exchanges, but I tried to focus on the other battle. I could hear horses. The cavalry had arrived. The battle was at my advantage now. I could now see fear in the eyes of my opponent, but she still didn't try to run away.

"Belgica, you are a good warrior, but you lack too much things to stand against me. All you can do is hand-to-hand fight. It is not enough to win a war. Come with me and I will make you my most powerful legion."

"NE-VER!" She shouted.

This time, I easily managed to dodge her and strike her in her back. She collapsed unconscious. I had won the battle of the Sabis.

* * *

**According to Caesar, the battle of the Sabis opposed eight roman legions (around 30 000 – 40 000 soldiers against 60 000 Belgian warriors, but he had interest to oversize the enemies' number and reduce his own staff. It would make the victory more impressive). The Belgian had the advantage of surprise effect and inflicted serious loss to the unarmed soldiers but the others managed to protect themselves in the camp under construction. The Belgian managed to surround the camp, but they ignored that two other legions were on their way. When they arrived, the Belgian hadn't any other choice than retreat. They were decimated. Caesar wrote that only 500 warriors of the 60 000 survived. **

**In one of his books, Caesar describes the Gallic religion. He writes that, not so long ago, the Gauls used to make human sacrifices. They would have crafted giant dolls full of human victims and burned them. Let's just remember the Romans were convicted they were the only civilised folk on the continent and that they needed to justify their conquests. That's why I decided to invent a more logical explanation. **


	6. How do we have the pleasure

**Hello everyone. Just like I said in the previous chapter, this part will have place only in the 16th century. You will have the pleasure to meet the childrens of Gaul and Belgica.**

**All Belgians have their own version of Belgium's childhood. My fellow countrymen would definitively have an other version of Belgium's birth and an other version of Flanders. But for me, Flanders is Belgium's mother, just as Burgundy is her father.**

* * *

**Chapter five: How do we have the pleasure of your visit?**

"_And that's how our grandmother was forced to work for Rome?" Luxembourg had joined his sister and Romano for the continuation of the story. But the roman victory at the battle of the Sabis had almost made him cry. After Rome managed to capture Belgica, Caesar plundered every village in order to get slaves. Without any warrior or their representative to protect them, most Belgian tribes were doomed. Caesar wrote in his second book he captured 53 000 people just in the Atuatuci's oppidum. Belgica was about to die. After two weeks in jail, she resigned and begged Rome for mercy. Since she was very weak, the Roman thought she wasn't a threat anymore and released her. She was ordered to serve the legions which spent the winter on her territory. She had to bring them food, to obey all their orders and was considered as the property of Rome. Luxembourg couldn't avoid compare her situation to the one the Low Countries were actually living. _

_Because even if Spain was very nice with them, Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg were more and more considered as his invisible servants, just as Romano. Their nightmare had started in 1477, when their father was captured by France at the battle of Nancy. The children could have been captured too but they were saved by the Holy Roman Empire who took them under his wing. And since that day, they had to work as henchman, housemaid and bookkeeper for their "protectors". When their boss became the new king of Spain, the kingdom promised them he would save their father, Burgundy. In 1525, he managed to capture France at Pavia. The children thought he would force him to free Burgundy but after five years, the only nation the Low Countries had seen was the new henchman: Romano. And while Spain travelled all around the world and fought many enemies, the "Spanish Netherlands" (that's how Spain decided to call them) had to stay home and weren't allowed to take any decision by themselves. In Spain's absence, the decisions were taken by his ally Austria. _

"_Our grandmother was brave. She only agreed to serve Rome in order to recover and learn the secrets of his strength". Belgium explained._

"_Clever idea, isn't it?"_

_Romano jumped in surprise. They all turned their head to the woman who had just made her apparition. She was tall and looked 30 years old. She had the same blond hair than Netherlands and wore a black dress. Actually, she was an older, scarier and female version of Netherlands._

"_Bonjour maman! What a …"_

"_Don't you dare say a single word in French in front of me, you ungrateful child!"_

_Romano shivered. Who was that scary woman who said such rude words to the nice Belgium?_

"_But maman…"_

"_WHAT DID I JUST SAY?"_

_Luxembourg explained to his scared friend: "This is our mother, Flanders. She is Belgica's daughter. She speaks Dutch. Papa Bourgogne speaks French, just as France. Those two are the sons of Gaul. Papa lived for more than nine centuries in his brother's shadow. But at the end of the Middle Ages, he met Flanders and they get married in 1369. They tried to become a real country by convincing their brothers and sisters to get united with them. We were born at that time. But France didn't want to acknowledge them. They had many fierce battles. At one time, France's boss murdered ours. He and Papa became mortal enemies. Papa even made an alliance with England during the hundred year war against his brother. And in 1477, after France's victory at Nancy, Papa was captured. Moeder Vlaanderen has given up the idea she would see her husband ever again and doesn't like everything that remind her of her lost husband or the man that took him away. She's rude to Belgium because she looks too much like her father and France. So… you better not speak French in front of her._

_- No problem, I don't know that language. _

_- Moeder, how do we have the pleasure of your visit? Belgium asked._

_Luxembourg explained again to the Italian: "She lives in a begijnhof in Bruges since a few years. We don't see her a lot."_

"_I wanted to see how my children are doing. What a relief seeing them reading a French translation of the Gallic Wars."_

_Belgium sighted._

"_It's dad's translation. He did it for us, remember? He made it to teach us our origins. He has always been Grandmother's biggest fan. You called me "Belgica Regia" in her memory."_

"_Whatever. I also wanted to know… The children of Frankrijk's boss are supposed to be released this month and that boss is supposed to marry one of our princesses too. It's part of Spain's treaty after his victory in Pavia. Isn't it?_

"_Yes, I guess…"_

"_In exchange, France has to free your father…" _

"_And… did you come to the news? Do you wonder if he will really do it?"_

"_You were reading the "Gallic's wars", isn't it? You were reading the part with the humiliating treatment of my mother after her defeat at the Sabis' battle."_

"_I… don't see the link with dad's liberation."_

"_Well, Frankrijk still has Gallic blood. I think he will do exactly as my mother after her surrender in 57 BC. He will promise everything as long as he can recover and after that…"_

"_After that…?"_

_The children were looking at her with the highest interest._

"… _When he will be strong enough, he will take back the fight."_

* * *

**For the story of the Burgundian lands, it would be far too long to tell you everything about it here. If you want to know more about it, Wikipedia can give you all the informations you need. You may also read novels about the 14****th**** and 15****th**** centuries and the 100 years war. That's a fascinating period.**

**The begijnhof (in Dutch) / Béguinage (French) (sorry, I didn't find a real translation in English) is a collection of small buildings surrounded by a high wall used by **** sisterhoods of the ****Roman Catholic Church****, founded in the 13th century in the****Low Countries****, comprising religious women who sought to serve God without retiring from the world. Most of these women were widows or just living alone and gathered in these safe places while still working outside. These "little villages" were built all around Europe but only the ones from the Low Countries, and especially the ones of Flanders, crossed the centuries. ****The Flemish's begijnhoven are registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List. So, I thought it was logical that after the loss of her husband, Flanders moved to the prettiest of them: the Bruges' begijnhof. **

**Oh, and Flanders is still alive today and she still likes to lecture her daughter.**

* * *

**Other translations:**

**Frankrijk = France**

**Moeder Vlaanderen = Mother Flanders**

**Papa Bourgogne = Daddy Burgundy.**

* * *

**In the next chapter, return to the gallic wars. Rome will meet Gaul's other sisters.**


	7. How I met my sisters-in-law

**Hello everyone! Thank you all for following me. **

**In this chapter, I will introduce the other sisters of Gaul: Aquitania and Armorica. I hope that if any French people read my story, they will like their aunties.**

* * *

**Chapter six: How I met my sisters-in-law.**

When I captured Belgica and forced her to surrender, I thought all the Gallic sisters would acknowledge me as the new leader of their family. How in the world could I think something so stupid? Both Gallia Armorica and Gallia Aquitania send me letters asking me to go to hell. As they were starting uprisings, I also got the news that Helveti was now trying to kick my troops out of his land. It was far too much trouble. I figured I should go talk to them, but as soon as I reached Armorica's house, she threw me a strange spell and I fell asleep. I woke up in a jail. I was out of the fight. I couldn't do anything else that hopping that Caesar would sort out things at best. Somehow, I wasn't sure I could trust him.

When I was finally released, he gave me a bunch of letters where he had summarized the battles. He had written them especially for the Senate and me. Those letters would become the famous "Comments on the Gallic Wars".

The letters I received about his fight against Armorica told about a strange battle against ships and magical elements. It was a very long and difficult battle. Her strongest weapons were her ships. In her land, the tide was really vicious and our ships weren't adapted to her coasts and rivers. Our boats ran aground on sandbank and were at the mercy of scary mythological creatures we had never seen before. But she, she had flat-bottomed boats and could go everywhere. She could appear from nowhere, throw us some magic fire balls and disappear in a weird magic fog before the Roman army could organise herself. I so wished I could see that. But I was boring myself into that wet jail while eating pancakes.

Caesar spent a few months building enough ships for the battle. But when the time for the true battle arrived, he realised the enemy' boats were too high to be assaulted. He had to craft giant scythes in order to destroy the sails of the enemy's boats. The ability of the roman army to adapt herself to the environment and to use ruse instead of a barbarian charge made all the difference. Armorica finally surrendered after more than six month of battle and I was finally free.

But in the same time, Caesar had to deal with Aquitania, and she was another piece of work. She was as pretty as her sisters and had long curled brown hairs. I really whished she was my gaoler. She, at least, had good wine and a nice weather. Caesar had sent a young general, Publius Crassus, to deal with her, but they soon realised she was quite good at holding strongholds. The army besieged several cities, but all of them resisted. As it wasn't enough, the Roman soon realised Aquitania had allied herself with her neighbour Hispania.

Ah, Hispania, what a charming creature! The first time I saw him, I thought he was a girl. He had so delicate features. He has a tanned skin, black curled hair and olive eyes. And he has such a pretty smile. I remember both Greece and Carthage had a crush for him. He isn't weak. He never lost to a gladiator fight. If he was helping Aquitania, the Roman army would have been in deep troubles. She was, indeed. Aquitania had the clever idea to cut the road of our supplies. Publius Crassus knew that if he didn't win soon, the Romans would be decimated. So, he made a last attempt to besiege one of her main cities. As the main of his troops made a diversion, the cavalry attacked the weakest part of her walls. It finally paid off. They captured the city and a few time later, Aquitania surrendered. I thought I had conquered their heart and that the war was over.

Unfortunately, no! I had completely forgotten about Helveti. For my first fight in month, it would be in the mountains and the snow.

I finally reached the camp after two weeks of horse-riding. I was really impatient to fight. I so missed that during my detention. I hadn't any trouble during the journey. It was almost disappointing. I was expecting Helveti to set an ambush, but there wasn't any sight of him. Where did he go? Did he really start an uprising? It looked more like he was hiding himself. I would later regret what I was thinking. I should better have thought: "Why is he hiding?"

...

...

...

He was preparing an ambush indeed.

* * *

"_New names again. Who are Armorica and Hispania?" Romano asked._

"_Armorica is Gaul's sister and France's and Papa's aunt. She lives on the edge of the Channel. She was an excellent sailor. I heard she married a Nordic Country during the Viking Era and had a kid called "Normandy", who inherited the powers of her mother and the scary strength of his father. Normandy was so jealous of Aquitania and his mother paying so much attention to England he decided to invade him. I wonder how they are all doing right now." Belgium explained._

"_And Hispania? His name sounds like the tomato bastard's one."_

"_Of Course." Belgium giggled. "He is his father."_

"_Damnit!"_

* * *

**Next chapter: Swizterland's father kick Rome out of his land!**

**Ps: Do you have any request for the next chapters?**


	8. How he protects his borders

**Hello everyone and thank you for following this Hetatia's fanfiction (that I do not own, and all the stuff). Please review if you like it.**

**Another important chapter with an epic historic battle: The battle of Octodure. What's cool about it is that the archaeologists know exactly where it did happen, on the ground of the actual city of Martigny, in the canton of Valais, Switzerland.**

* * *

**Chapter seven: How he protects his borders**

As soon as I reached the camp, the centurion in charge welcomed me. His name was Galba, and he was an experienced soldier. He had fought alongside Caesar since a long time. He invited me to share his meal in his huge tent.

"How is the situation?" I asked.

"There were some skirmishes, and many vicus are deserted. Right here, for example, all the villagers disappeared since more than one day."

And he showed me a map of the area. The valley was huge, and the inhabitants had chosen to build a huge vicus, Octodure, in the widest place, where they could control the "Punic Pass" leading straight to my home, just as the main traffic and trading lanes of the area. I remembered the place. Two centuries before, Carthage tried to cross the mountains not far away from here.

"If they want to cross the valley, they will have to cross here." Galba explained. "That's why we chose to establish our camp on the left side of this village. The inhabitants had to live on the right side. But since yesterday, we cannot find any of them".

I really didn't like that. All these evacuations would mean a huge battle was on her way.

"Say your men we could be attacked at any moment. They must stay on guard."

Galba gave the orders to the soldiers and we left in order to recognize the place.

All that silence was scary indeed. It was the calm before the storm. And I started wondering if Galba had chosen the best place to build the fort. We were on the left side of the Rhone's river, near steep slopes. No danger form that place. It was the river we feared the most. Of course, in case of trouble, we weren't far from our own borders. We just had to reach the Punic Pass, but it was on the other side of the river. We had a bridge to cross.

I was certain Octodure would soon be attacked. The place was too important. Would the fortifications be enough?

"We should retreat to a better fortress." I said.

"But…"

"This vicus is like a mouse's trap to me."

And we return to the camp. The sun was setting down. I was so nervous I could not sleep. But there weren't any attack this night.

Finally, at six in the morning, I decided to get up. Some soldiers were awake. They had stood guard all night long. It was still dark but I knew the sun would rise in a few moments. They all greeted me.

"Welcome to Octodure, Lord Rome", "Did you sleep well, Lord Rome?" or "Do you want a glass of wine, my lord? The villagers make a very good one." My fellow soldiers were all so nice.

"So, did you see anything suspect this night?"

"Nothing on the river or the other bank. Oh but… there is a bird for you."

"A bird?"

The soldier brought a magnificent peregrine falcon. He had a letter attached to his leg. Who could be the master of such a creature?

I opened the letter. It was from Belgica.

"_The German are about to cross the Rhine again. Since you killed most of my soldiers and half of my population is prisoner in your capital, I can't fight them on my own. You better move you ass and come here RIGHT NOW or I swear I will use your soldiers for human sacrifices."_

I sighted. Why in the world did I wish for a cute and dynamic little sister? I had to finish the battle quick before leaving for Belgica.

"Bad news?" Galba said while bringing me breakfast.

"Troubles in the North. The Germans are coming back. We have to concentrate as much strengths as we can there."

"Bad news for us. That's mean we have to give up the conquest of Helveti." Galba wasn't pleased at all. He so wished to be the man who would conquer the land of the fearsome Helvetians.

"Protecting the Gallic sisters is much more important. My help against the Germans is the only thing that convinces them to stay with me. Let's evacuate the city."

"Have breakfast first!" He said while giving me a piece of bread.

I didn't get it. An arrow hit the bread and stuck it in the ground. We turned our heads. The sun was rising and we could now see at least four thousand barbarian soldiers on the steep slopes just behind the camp. When did they arrive there? I grabbed one the men supposed to guard the walls.

"Can you explain me why you didn't see them coming?"

"Well… no-one was expecting them to come from the mountain. We were looking at the valley. Everyone thought they would use the road or the river. It is not like it is easy to move on these slopes full of rocks and small trees."

I sighted. I had to admit I didn't paid attention to the slope either, but that was so stupid. I should have known it wouldn't be a matter for Helveti.

A fire was lighted somewhere on the slope. I could see the man next to it. It was Helveti himself, with his blond hair and his bow. He was… about to shoot a fire arrow.

"SHIELDS!" I shouted.

Someone in the camp rang the alarm bell and all the soldiers who were awake ran to take their weapons. A shower of arrows beat down on the camp. A lot of unprepared soldiers were wounded.

Damnit! We were a perfect target for them. We didn't have a chance.

"Galba! We have to secure the cavalry! We must escape!"

After only ten minutes, the camp was on fire and a hundred Romans were lying on the ground, dead. The enemy had stop shooting. We heard war cries. The Helvetian's infantry was charging. "TO THE WALLS!" I shouted. "DRAW YOUR SWORDS!"

The battle seemed to last forever. The sun was high in the sky and we were always struggling for our lives. A soldier beside me began to despair.

"It is no use, my lord. We are so few and them, so many… we should surrender."

"We are going to die!" Another man cried.

They had a point. Right here, stuck in these walls, we were doomed. I called Galba.

"Prepare the cavalry. We are going to risk everything and make an exit. We will contain the enemy's infantry in order to help the others evacuation."

He nodded. Twenty minutes later, to my command, the main gate opened and we charged. The barbarians did not expect that and we easily broke their ranks. In a few minutes, we managed to secure the exit and all our wounded soldiers. Galba was leading them to a fortress on the Leman Lake. I stayed behind with the cavalry to protect the rear. The barbarians didn't follow us. It seemed they were fine with just driving us out of their land.

I sighted. It hasn't been the kind of battle I expected. I couldn't even duel with Helveti. Instead, I had lost half a legion and had to retreat. Well, I should be glad I saved the other half.

"Don't run away, you coward!"

I turned my head, just to see an arrow passing a few centimetres away from my ear. Helveti had finally decided to pursue me alone on his horse. His horse riding sucked but his shooting was worthy of Appolo and Diana. I hesitated to call my horsemen, but since he was alone, I figured it had to be a battle between nations. I faced him. He shot a new arrow. It touched the belt of my saddle. I fell to the ground. My poor horse was also hurt. I couldn't escape anymore. He came down from horse. I could see he was a very straight man who looked for a fight where each fighter had equal chances. I started to like him.

"Helveti, let's settle it. If I win, I want you to allow me to build Roman forts alongside the trade road to Octodure and the Punic Pass."

"If I win, you will never put a foot in my land ever again."

"Fine with me."

My blood was boiling. I so enjoyed that kind of fight. I ran to him, sword in my hand. He managed to shoot one more arrow before I broke his bow. That stupid arrow still managed to hit my left shoulder. I pulled it out and tried to strike again. Helveti protected himself with an iron sword… wait… The Helvetians had iron weapons? Since when? The Gallic sisters all used bronze weapons, exception for Belgica and her scary axe.

Helveti tried to take advantage of my lack of attention to hurt me. He scratched me and I came back to my senses. In a few seconds, I took the advantage. I hurt him several times. He soon reached his limit.

"Helveti, you know, it is not that I want to invade you but we really should have a new kind of diplomatic relationships. You really are the best in archery and no-one knows the mountains as well as you do. If you agree to use theses talents for me, I am ready to…"

"You haven't yet won! Don't you feel anything?"

Now he said it, I felt a little weird. I had a growing headache and nauseas. Could he…

"You poisoned you arrows! That's cheating! Just when I thought you were a straight man!"

"I will do everything in my power in order to protect my land!"

"I will still win before the poison get me."

And I moved my sword again. I managed to disarm him. He tried to run. I caught him by grabbing my arms around him. And then, I felt his chest was soft… soft as…

"Wait, are you a…"

But I couldn't say anything more. He made a headbutt and I collapsed. My lasts thoughts were "Helveti… are… you… really a…"

* * *

**Octodure and the Punic Pass are more well-known today as the city of Martigny and the Great St-Bernard Pass. If you have the luck to visit those place, there is a very interesting Roman museum in the city and as you climb the pass, you can walk on the old Roman road (and you really should visit the Great St-Bernard Hospice and his cute St-Bernard dogs).**

**Why that last mystery about Helveti? I must admit I am a huge fan of the episode where Japan imagine Switzerland in a dress and I always wondered what would his reaction be if he knew what Japan was thinking… My dear Helveti will avenge his/her son.**

**Belgica has a peregrine falcon because I think they are the coolest birds in the world (yes, cooler than Gilbird)! And a couple of these falcons make their nest in one of the towers of Brussels'cathedral every year.**


	9. How I lost all credibility as a man

**Believe me or not, but when I started the story, I was planning to write it in seven or eight chapters. But the more I read the "gallic wars", the more things I have to talk about. For example, I thought the next battle against Germania would fit in one chapter, but now, I wonder if two chapters would be enough. I start to think the story will have at least 15 chapters.**

**I still don't own Hetalia. It is a mere fanfiction and my english hasn't improved a lot since the last chapter. I do my best. Enjoy the story and thank you to all the people who reviewed my story.**

* * *

**Chapter eight: How I lost all credibility as a man**

I remember I slept a lot and had a lot of weird dreams. When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was Gaul's pretty smile.

"Gaul? Where am I?"

"We are in my house near Bibract. You slept for three day."

"Three…" I had trouble remembering what did happen.

"Helveti brought you at his border three days ago."

She was trying to hide a smirk. She wasn't saying everything.

"What did happen? I don't really remember… I know I arrived to Octodure, and that it was obvious Helveti and I would fight for this vicus' control. I was nervous during all the night, but nothing happened…"

I remembered the Belgian's pretty falcon.

"Oh yes, your sister sent me… OH NO! I really slept three days?"

"Yes, why?" Gaul was surprised.

"The letter! She was calling for help. I can't believe I slept while I should have been helping her."

"If it is only that, don't worry. Caesar already knows and he's on his way to Belgica with eight legions. Now rest. You have to recover or you won't be any help. The poison you got is supposed to be mortal for humans."

And I remembered the duel with Helveti, and how it ended. I had to be sure.

"Gaul"?

"Yes?"

"Is Helveti really a boy?"

She burst in laughs.

"So that was that! What did you just do to him? I was wondering why he did such a narrow-minded thing. That isn't like him at all."

"What? What did he do?"

"Just look at you." She said with a grin.

And I realised I was wearing a… dress… a true Roman lady's dress, made from silk and with golden threads. I was dressed like a girl! What a bastard! How could I have respect for him anymore?

"You called him a girl?"

"Well, when I tried to catch him, I felt his chest was…"

"It was his armour."

"He just had a leather coat."

"And he wears wool under it. That's a good protection against impacts. It worked against my weapons. I swear you he's a man and that he is very touchy."

She seemed to have fun. I wondered if she was really telling the true.

"So… what are we going to do during your recovery?" She asked with a pervert look.

* * *

"_So, him too." Romano groaned._

"_How that, "him too"?" Belgium asked._

"_The aristocrat bastard forced my little brother to wear a housemaid's outfit. The tomato bastard tried to force me too. Is it a tradition to do that to the loosing countries?"_

"_Well, I don't know. I am a girl after all. Luxembourg was still a little kid when dad was captured. I don't remember Austria doing such a thing to him. _

_ "Are you sure?" Her little brother asked. Since he was so young back then he didn't remembered anything, but the only idea of being cross-dressed against his will frightened him._

"_I am sure of it, and if he dared, Netherland would have hit him. Our big brother never allowed anyone to do dirty tricks to us." _

_er _

"_Did Netherlands ever…"_

"_I did what?" _

_The two little boys screamed and hide behind Belgium. Netherland had entered the room without anyone noticing._

_Belgium tried to smile and explained: "We are reading the chapter where Helveti put a dress on Rome while he was unconscious. Romano and Luxembourg were worried about …"_

"_Do they think all losers become girls? Netherlands asked with a scary look._

"_No, and all losers aren't girls!" Belgium protested. "England lost the hundred year war to France and he's still very manly." _

_She was blushing. Netherlands threw a surprised look to his sister._

_The two little boys were still shaking. The eldest brother tried to comfort them._

"_Did France become a girl when he lost to Spain?" Netherlands asked them._

"_Well…" Belgium hesitated with a smirk. It wasn't like France never wore girlish clothes before. But he did it for fun._

"_Okay, it was a bad example." Netherlands sighted. He took a seat._

"_You want to listen to the story too?" Her sister asked._

"_I just want to hear that chapter. It is my favourite. It is the one where our grandfather makes his first appearance."_

* * *

Five days later, I had completely recovered and I finally reached Caesar's camp. I found him in his tent, discussing with his best lieutenants: Publius Crassus, Titus Labienus, Quintus Ciceron, Quintus Sabinus and Lucius Cotta. They were all delighted to see me in great shape. When they heard the Roman army had to withdraw from the Rhone's valley¸ they were all worried, and much more when they got the news I suffered from a strange poison. Caesar had his mysterious smile.

"You will have your revenge on Helveti. I swear it on the gods. But right now, we have a bigger problem."

"How's Belgica?"

"Well, that's here we are in troubles." Publius Crassus said.

"She has disappeared." Quintus Sabinus added.

"What?"

I hoped I didn't hear well.

"Her tribes' leaders are all there. The leaders of the Morini, Menapii, Nervii, Ambiorix and Catuvolcos from the Eburones, Cingetorix and Indutiomaros from the Treviri, but the nation's representative is still not there."

I sighed. If something happened to her, Gaul would kill me. I new I should have come sooner. I shouldn't have slept one last night with Gaul.

"Did you question her tribes' leaders?"

"The Menapii were the lasts to see her. It was when they spotted the Germanic troops on the other side of the river. They said she stayed behind to spy on them. It seems she sent them messages at the beginning, but it stopped five days ago. They are worried and are begging for our help." Caesar looked satisfied. No wonder. It was what he wanted.

"And you are still waiting here? Are you realising Belgica could already be in the hands of Germania? Do you know if Germania already cross the Rhine?"

"Him, no. But some of his scouts and underlings did. We will move our legions to the North tomorrow, but we are still discussing about the strategy." Caesar added: "I can understand you want to find her as soon as possible. Even if her tribes' leaders are safe here, that doesn't mean Belgica's fine."

"With your permission, Caesar, I want to see the Tribes' leaders and look for her."

"Agreed. The sooner we find her, the better!"

And Lucius Cotta introduced me to the tribes' leaders. The presentations were fast. They all knew me far too well since they had all knelt down before me less two years before. By trying not to rub salt in the wound, I explained them that I wanted to save their nation's representative and that I needed their help. I didn't know the country and my armies needed food for men and animals. They showed themselves very cooperatives, to my surprise. The thread of Germania had made them forget everything I did to them. I left the camp with a little escort three hours later. The next day, we were in Menapii's territory and the search began. As we came closer to the Rhine, the peregrine falcon appeared again. He had a new message from Belgica. That meant she was safe. The message was very short: "Follow Taranis. There are Germanic warriors in the area. Be discreet". Was Taranis the falcon? The bird flew away. I decided to follow him. After one hour walk, I reached a huge oak in the border of the forest. The falcon landed on one of his branches, near… Belgica. I was relieved. She was fine.

"Belgica?" I called her. She glared at me.

"Shut up, you idiot! They are very close. Climb!"

I obeyed. I joined her in the tree.

"You sure took your time. I called you ten days ago." She scolded me.

"Blame Helveti for that."

She smirked. "Do you mean he was that strong?"

"He's a cheater!" I protested.

One year later, I would regret what I just said.

* * *

**There were a lot of historical characters in this chapter. You should keep an eye on them. They all will have a role to play in the next chapters. Focus especially on Quintus Sabinius, Lucius Cotta and Ambiorix. I am preparing something awesome with them.**

**In the next chapter: the Benelux's grandfather will make his first appearance.**


	10. How I failed to protect her

**Hello everyone. Thank you for your attention.**

**New chapter with battles and kidnapping (some friends of mine made me like kidnapping's stories). **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter nine: How I failed to protect her.**

Belgica explained me everything she had seen.

"They started crossing the river two days ago and plundered five villages already. They didn't go further. I think they are waiting for more troops. Everyday, new ships cross the Rhine."

She showed me a temporary camp in the plain. We could see a hundred tents, fire camps, some horses. But I was more interested in her. She was far much thin and paler than the first time we met. It has to be expected. She had lost the fifth of her population in her rebellion. But she still had energy. No, in fact, she had recovered faster than I expected.

"I haven't seen Germania or his little brothers yet…"

"Can you tell me a little more about them?"

"Before that, can you tell me when your army will arrive? There is a difference between fighting twenty thousand men and forty thousand."

"The cavalry will be there tomorrow. The infantry will arrive the next day."

"Geez, how could I loose to you? You are underestimating the enemy."

"Tell me about them, then! It is no use to scold me now."

"It is different from the other times." She said while looking at the camp.

"What?"

"They never were so many to cross the border. Usually, Germania uses one or two tribes to make a raid on the villages near the borders and I always get them before they venture too much inside the country. But there are ten times more soldiers this time. It is a true invasion's army."

I could see she was shaking. Was she scared? That was understandable.

"I will protect you, don't worry."

"Just shut up! It is your entire fault! Germania must have thought that I would be easier to capture since I am injured."

"Calm down. I told you since the very beginning I would protect you from him. I will definitively keep my promise."

Just as I said it, we heard the sound of footsteps on the dead leaves. We stopped talking. A few seconds later, two barbarians with wild blond hair appeared. Did they spot us? The sun was setting and the oak tree still had a lot of leaves. I tried to think they could not see us.

They walked near the tree, stopped a few second, and then continued their walk. When they disappeared, Belgica explained me with a trembling voice.

"They are my neighbours form the North, Batavi and Frisi… they are Germania little brothers."

"Are they dangerous?" I figured it was the reason why she was shaking.

"I never feared them…"

And I saw tears in her eyes.

"We used to be good friends, hem, rivals… so even they are on Germania side now."

I started to realise Germania was planning to attack us with his full strength.

"Belgica, we should move now. If they patrol in the area, it is a matter of time before they find us. We will come back tomorrow with my cavalry."

"You have no idea how much I hate you! None of this would have ever happened if you never had tried to invade us. Batavi, Frisi and I would still be making drinking contests; I would trade my wool with Britannia and my cider with Aquitania… Now we are all enemies and will hurt each other because Germania and you want us to choose between one of your sides."

"Belgica, we must leave now!"

"Stop calling me Belgica. I am the Belgian girl and I am not your thing."

I sighed. She was so stubborn. Why did she so much want to be on her own? The time where she could be independent was over. She should accept it. Even if I didn't invade her two years before, Germania would have done it sooner or later. I remembered well the threat he threw on me at our last meeting: "the Gallic sisters are mine".

"Belgica, I am leaving now. Either you follow me or you will be captured."

And I went down the tree. She followed me without a word. But we hadn't made ten meters the two barbarians were back.

"Did you really think we didn't saw you in the tree?" The eldest one said.

I took place immediately between them and Belgica.

"Okay, you found us. And so what?" I tried to provoke them.

They ignored me. "Belgian girl. Come with us!" The youngest offered her his hand.

So, they really were planning an invasion.

"Why? Frisi and Batavi, why are you doing this? We never were at war before." Belgica was about to cry.

"We didn't want to do this. But if we must choose between dragging you at big brother's home as a prisoner and seeing you as that Southern bastard's shield, our choice is done. Whether you like it or not, you will come with us!"

"NO!" She shouted.

That quick answer was quite unexpected.

"I heard you complaining in the tree." The eldest boy said. "You hate him. Why staying with him?"

"Because… my sisters are with him. And if I follow you, sooner or later, I would have to fight my own family. That's why I will stay with him."

That was an argument I never thought of, but it looked like it was very efficient.

"Belgica, does it mean you will fight by my side?" I asked with an innocent tone.

"Shut up, you idiot!"

"So we will have to capture you!" The eldest sighted.

"Just try!" She claimed by brandishing her axe.

I drew my own sword. The two boys rushed against me. I blocked both of them. They weren't that strong. I could fight both of them by myself. But as I was forcing them to withdraw, I heard a shout behind me. I turn my head. I saw Germania fighting with Belgica. Where did he com from? I knew that in her state, my wildcat was no match for him. Not good.

I dodge the sword of the youngest brother.

"You don't have the time to pay attention to her." He said. Belgica's two neighbours were getting better.

"Let me go!" Belgica screamed. Germania had managed to grab her wrists and was trying to tie them. She struggled but couldn't escape. He hoisted her on his shoulder. "Just cover us." He ordered his little brothers. They rushed again on me. This time, their movements were far much more strong and precise. I realised that they were just playing the decoy before, and that I fell for the trick. What an idiot! If only I had my army nearby. I would show them all the difference between us. They all had 20 000 men near them. Mines were still fifty kilometres away. I had a nation's disadvantage.

"Put me down, you brainless bear!" The girl didn't stop screaming. She had a lot of vocabulary concerning insults and she was struggling as much as she could in order to slow her kidnapper. I finally manage to escape the two brothers and rushed behind Germania. I heard something passing near my head. Another Germanic boy had tried to shoot an arrow at me.

"You are not going anywhere!" He said.

"Nice job, Tencteri!"

So, now it was three on one? I really had been careless, but there was no way three underlings would stop the mighty Rome. I jumped on the archer. He was so surprised he didn't react. In a few seconds, I managed to knock him down.

"Don't tell that was all you've got! And you think you can protect Belgica with such a pathetic strength?"

The two guys from the North glared at me. They rushed again on me like a wild boar would charge an intruder. Their fighting style looked like the one of my golden lioness, but for some reason, I think Belgica was still stronger than them. They were two, I was on the defensive, but I couldn't avoid thinking that if I had fought two Belgica, I would have lost in less than one minute. And here, it wasn't the case. I was certain I could keep on for hours.

After five minutes of fighting, Tencteri woke up. He wanted to join the fight.

"No, warn ours bosses! They need to move against the Roman army."

So, they were thinking to use their citizens to influence our battle. But just as the boy was leaving, a boars' horde made her apparition. Somehow, I was certain they were Belgica's pets which were annoying me at the battle of the Sabis. This time, I wasn't their target. They charged the Germanic boys. Their victims soon had to withdraw. As five of the boars pursue them, the last one, the bigger, stayed near me and started to growl.

"Okay, you want something from me?"

He growled louder.

"Listen, I really want to save your mistress, but I don't know how to find her."

The beast came closer and sniffed my leg with his big snout.

"What the… Hey wait! Do you mean you can follow her scent?" It seemed like he nodded. It took me a few second to realise I was talking to a wild boar and that it was answering to me. It looked unreal and ridiculous at the same time. He growled again and, the snout on the ground, started following the track. I followed him. That was really weird to see a boar doing the job of a hunting dog, but I had no choice. I couldn't wait my cavalry for twelve hours and say to Gaul, who would obviously arrive with it, that her sister was abducted right in front of me.

* * *

"_You are kidding me! He really…" Romano said, incredulous._

"_Boars are really strong and intelligent" Luxembourg protested. "They were sacred for Belgica and her sisters. And they are still the main emblem for the awesome Ardennes' forest. Of course Obélix would help him!"_

"_Obélix?" The Italian nation asked._

"_He is Belgica's main pet, alongside Taranis." Luxembourg explained._

"_Okay, okay… it is just not the same thing in the Roman tradition… And so, the scary bastard said this chapter would talk about your grandfather. Who was it? They were three new characters. Which one is Belgica's boyfriend?"_

"_That's a surprise. He's well one of them: Batavi, Frisi or Tencteri. But it is too soon to give you his name."_

"_What was the point in announcing it, then?"_

"_To make you pay attention to the story until the very end." Netherland said._

"_That's mean, you scary bastard!"_

* * *

**For Belgica's boyfriend, I will probably give the name at the end of the story (in fact, I haven't yet decided who it would be). If anyone coming from Netherlands ****and knowing about Batavi, Frisi and Tencteri ****read this story (but well, Tencteri was more on German territory), could he please tell who, from those tribes, should be the main Netherlands' ancestor?**

**The name of Taranis (the peregrine falcon) is coming from a Gallic god, the lord of thunder and the Sky.**

**Obelix (ha ha ha), well… if you haven't yet read the Belgo-French comic "The adventures of Asterix", you should do it know. You would understand quickly why I picked that name. **


	11. How I became a hero

**Chapter ten: How I became a hero.**

The boar and I walked all night long, but we didn't catch Germania. To my surprise, he didn't go back to his temporary camp in the plain. He went eastward. Was he planning to take Belgica to his home? There was no way I could let him do that… But the more the time passed, the less I trusted me. Why didn't I catch them already? Belgica was definitively trying to do everything in her power to slow down Germania.

When the sun rose, I took a look at the track the boar was following. It was still only footsteps. But how in the hell was he able to move so quickly with his prisoner? I had to solve that mystery because that strange ability might become a real problem in the future. At noon, I reached a huge orchard. I was tired and hungry. I needed to rest. My four-leg companion did not agree with me. He was more and more nervous. I wished it meant we were about to catch our enemy. But I really needed to rest or I would be powerless against Germania.

I climbed to a tree in order to pick some apples. But just as I was grapping a gorgeous one, I saw people a little far away in the orchard. It was them! Germania had tied up Belgica to a tree and both of them seemed to be sleeping. My wildcat had finally managed to exhaust her kidnapper. That was my chance! I came down form the tree as quickly and discreetly as possible. I praised the boar. "Nice job, bud! We caught them. It is time for an awesome and infallible strategy."

Yes, I had done enough mistakes like that. From that day, I would carefully think before acting and come with such a perfect rescue plan Belgica would start calling me "Big Brother".

A few minutes later, I approached Germania silently, the hand on my sword. Belgica, who had woken up, threw me a tense look. I made her a sign to stay silent. I came closer in order to untie her but just as I was about to touch her, I heard the sound of a sword pulled from its sheath. I dodged the attack of a Germania who was now awake.

"Good, a true duel between men!" I shouted.

"You are not welcome here." He said.

"We are still on Belgica's territory. It's upon to her…"

"Shut up!" He tried to cut me again. I warded off his sword and attacked right away. I had to take him away from Belgica. Like this, the boar could free his mistress while I took care of my enemy.

This time again, we were on equal strength. How was that possible? I should have been far much stronger since I had conquered the Gallic sisters.

"Is that me or you did some training since our last battle?" I asked him.

"You talk far too much."

"Chatting is a national sport at home." I answered. "Rhetoric is the first subjects which we teach at school. Everyone can learn it: nobles, merchants, poor people, women and even slaves"

"Thanks for the warning. I will be careful to never go in such a noisy place."

And we exchange numerous blades' strokes. My plan worked. Far away from us, I could see my new bud eating away the ties of its mistress. She could run away… But after that… what should I do? If I didn't defeat Germania, he would just catch her again. And it didn't look like I was about to win either.

"I get it now. You came here alone." Germania grinned. That kind of smile on his face was the scariest think I had ever seen in my life. I was even too scared to tremble.

"And did you ever wonder why we went this way, straight to the East?"

I had a bad feeling about this. He continued: "Did you think we stopped in this orchard because we were tired?"

"Actually, I was wondering why it didn't happen sooner. This night, I understood that you were abnormally tough. If you're about to reveal me your secret, please go on!"

"What an idiot!" Belgica complained a few meters away. Her boar growled in approbation.

Germania and I fought again for two minutes, but after that, they all started to hear the sound of horses, many horses. Germania grinned again.

"They are right on schedule."

"You…" Belgica was using her nation's power to identify the newcomers. "800 horsemen of him just crossed the Rhine a few kilometres from here. They will be here in a few minutes… just as…" She had a surprised face. "How the hell did you do that?"

"What are you talking about? I don't understand."

Germania attacked me again. He was different than two minutes before. I understood that orchard was supposed to be a meeting place for his army and him. But somehow, I fell stronger as well. It was like I was surrounded by friends cheering me. My nation's power was also active. I could feel my army was also nearby. But how did they found me? I had crossed half Belgica's territory in one night without warning anyone.

The fight continued. Three minutes later, a barbarian cavalry appeared in the orchard. Germania was confident is his victory. He didn't notice their arrival hadn't change anything in our balance of powers. I had to play on that until my own cavalry arrived.

The Germanic cavalry soon surrounded us. Belgica and her boar came closer to us to avoid the horsemen. The girl had no weapons to protect herself. I was the only one who could protect her against eight hundred barbarians. It sure would be pretty though.

Belgica seized a big branch and used it as bludgeon. I was glad she was on my side this time. I whispered her: "Hold on as much as you can. My army is coming." She nodded and we started a hopeless but epic fight. I focussed on beating Germany. My fellows got rid of every mortal trying to interfere in our fight.

We stood like it for twenty minute. During this time, Belgica managed to steal a fine harmer and did far much more damages. She could blow up a horse in one strike. I couldn't avoid wondering what she would do with my civilised weapons when she would have full recovered. She would definitively be my stronger warrior and an impassable wall all by herself.

As we started to reach our limits, I heard the familiar sound of my own cavalry. I was always happy when it saved the day but why in the world did it always appear at the last minute? When he realised what was going on, Germania shouted new orders. I could see Caesar doing the same. The Roman cavalry was deployed on three lines. They were far much more than the Germanic, at least three times more. I turned my head to look at my enemy. He tried to hide his fear without great success. Somehow, it didn't make me happier. I felt kinda sorry for him, since his defeat was unavoidable.

I didn't remember which army charged first, but the next minutes were awful. Horses were running everywhere and I did my best to protect Belgica from everyone. She could so easily be hurt in such chaos. After less than one hour, the Germanic lines were annihilated. Some of them retreated to the Rhine and crossed it. Germania was one of them.

"Good, with such a defeat, we won't see him soon." I said, satisfied.

Belgica came closer, blushing.

"Hmmm, you idiot… thanks."

That was such a cute reward.

"How did you manage to follow me?"

"That's your boar. He followed your track and I followed him."

"He did? I mean, you trusted him?"

"Of course. Well, it was weird at first, but the boar looked so confident and ..."

Her face was redder. She was quite adorable now. We heard someone calling us. Gaul was there. Just as I thought, she had accompanied the cavalry.

"Thanks the Gods, you're alright!" She said after hugging her little sister. She turned toward me.

"Okay, we gonna say you saved my sis."

"Hey, I did save her! And by the way, how did you find us? I didn't warn…"

"What, you followed us all on your own?" Belgica wondered. "You're such an idiot!"

Gaul smirked. "I found you thanks to the power of love and I led your army here."

"Power of what?" Belgica and I asked together. I was not reassured. Gaul often talked about the fact "Love" gave her strange powers. I won't be able to escape her tonight.

"Lord Rome!" Caesar and some members of his general staff also arrived.

"It was a total victory!" Lucius Cotta said, delighted.

"You sure made us run." Quintus Sabinus added.

"What do we do now? Do we pursue them in their territory?" Another one asked

"Good point." Caesar intervened. "Are we going to wait they come back or shall we bring the war to them?"

"What?" Belgica's became white. "No! You can't…"

Gaul took her sister.

"You are still in a state of shock. Just come and rest."

"Gaul, they are about to invade Germania."

"They are just going to punish him. Don't you want to revenge yourself? They attacked your villages and tried to abduct you."

"Gaul! Open your eyes! Don't you…"

"Time to rest, sis." And my girlfriend took her in a neighbouring village. I was grateful for it. Maybe Belgica would not have approved of the punishment Caesar had in mind.

Just as the two Gallic sisters left, some soldiers brought us some prisoner. I recognised a wounded Tencteri and the other was a young boy looking just like him. Maybe he was one of his brothers. When Caesar understood he had captured Germania little brothers, he grinned. "Good, I think we need to do an exemplary judgment."

* * *

**At that point of the "Gallic Wars". Caesar said that 800 perfidious horsemen attacked the Roman camp while some other Germanic tribes were trying to negociate. He added they had no chance against the 5000 horsemen from the Roman cavalry. In the Gallic Wars, Caesar said he let a lot of prisonners go. But some of his contemporaries (his enemies at Rome) said that on the contrary, he was very cruel. He would have made execute two whole tribes.**

**I have a request for all the british who read my story... Which kind of creatures would Britannia summon in order to create a storm? (how that, i spoiled the next chapters?) I am lacking knowledge concerning that bestiary.**


	12. How I met the witch

**Chapter eleven: How I met the witch.**

Caesar was in an excellent mood. He ate, drank and laughed with his men. Everything was going according to his plan. I wished I could be as happy as him, but I was worried about the Gallic sisters.

I thought everything would be fine after I chased away Germania. But Caesar had made too much zeal. In order to punish the Germanic brothers, he had killed every man, woman and child from Tencteri and Sugambri's tribes. It was the first time since Carthage (and that was 150 years ago) I saw nations dying right in front of my eyes… and it was far much more disturbing than the victory on my eternal rival. Those two tribes were far much weak than the former master of North Africa and they were just following their big brother's orders. They were both so pitiful in their lasts moments. I didn't like this execution at all. Belgica and Gaul didn't say anything about what my general had done, but I could see by their face our relations didn't improve for the best. And I was certain Germania would be furious. Caesar, instead, was convinced the guy would be too scared to come back.

"I am going to let two legions on Belgica's territory to help them create a monitoring system of the borders. I will leave five others on Gaul, Armorica and Aquitania's territory. They will be enough against those barbarians. Now let's talk about our new projects."

So that was that. He already had a new target in mind. I just hoped it wasn't involving hurting another sister of Gaul.

Caesar sat next to me, a cup of wine in his hand. "I heard Gaul has another sister we have not seen yet."

"What?"

"Your girlfriend didn't tell you about her?"

I hated when Caesar was trying to turn me against Gaul. He kept saying me she wasn't trustworthy and never missed a chance to compare her to Germania. He didn't like her and didn't like the idea I wanted to treat her as a wife. I ignored his comment.

"I was heard there is a girl living on a huge island in the Atlantic Ocean. She barely leave her Island. When she does, it is to exchange her wool and barley beer with her sisters."

I remembered a discussion with Belgica "I would continue to trade my wool with Britannia".

"Oh, the wildcat told me a little about her…"

"And what did she say?"

"Not many things, just that since you invaded Gaul, they see each other less and less."

"She tries to isolate herself?"

"I don't know… we should investigate a little more before accosting on her island."

"Investigating? That's a waste of time! Where is your sense of adventure? Three years ago, you were so exited at the idea of exploring new nations. And besides, some prisoners say she helped her sisters in their uprisings. We can't ignore her."

"Please, it isn't the time to start a new campaign. We are in Mid-August. We should take our winter quarter and work out our diplomatic relationships with the different tribes."

"If they try anything funny, we will punish them and that's all. They are no match against a well trained and organised army."

"Do you ever consider of pacific solutions?"

"Since when do you dislike that kind of method? We had an agreement with Helveti. He broke it and insulted you. Germania is a mere barbarian nomad without honour who live to plunder villages. War will be the only kind of diplomacy these subhumans acknowledge." And then, he continued with Gaul and her sisters. "Your strength is the only thing that makes the ladies stay with you."

"You are really annoying!"

I got up from my _klinai_ and left the tent. He wasn't entirely wrong. Gaul was the only nation who joined my side on her own free will, and my army was playing an important role in her decision. But I wished that with time, they would forget the army and consider my villa as theirs. I dreamed we all lived as a happy family in a villa where the summer never ends: The Gallic sisters, Greece, Hispania, Egypt, maybe some other cutes ladies and me.

I suddenly felt someone wrapping his arms around me.

"You are so careless, little boy. Is it Love which finally disturb your sight?"

"Somehow…"

"It looks like something is wrong." And Gaul kissed me in the neck.

"I had a few words with my general."

"No way! You two get along so well."

"We did, but… I wonder if he's not overdoing things. Actually, you will learn it sooner or later, but he's planning to pay a visit to Britannia."

She tightened her embrace.

"What kind of visit?"

"He didn't really say. But she DID help Armorica and Aquitania…"

"Is he planning to invade her?"

"I don't know, but he is able to do it."

Gaul laughed and kissed me again.

"Is that all? You were angry when we attacked your sisters. Why is Britannia different?" I asked.

"Because Britannia IS different. Actually, if Caesar is really planning to invade her, I am going to have a lot of fun."

I shivered. It announced nothing good.

"How is she?"

"You will see. It is a surprise."

"Why is she so special?"

"It is not fun if I tell you now."

"Gaul, if you don't, I won't share your bed tonight."

She released me. She was still grinning.

"Fine with me. I will spend the night with Armorica. Britannia will stay my secret."

"I will know what I want with or without your help."

And she disappeared. That little dispute showed me I didn't control her at all. Maybe Caesar was right. Maybe I would have problems if I wasn't more severe. Just as I was planning to return to the tent, I heard someone calling me.

It was the wildcat. She looked a little better since the Germanic campaign.

"Didn't you just have a row with my sister?"

"That wasn't a row. She's just trying to tease me."

If there was well someone to who I must not show my weaknesses, it was Belgica. I had to show her everything was fine between Gaul and I… Caesar was right… I didn't trust any of them, not yet.

"I did hear the name of Britannia."

"That's right. The thing is my general wants to make a scouting mission on her island, and by seeing the face of Gaul, I guess there is something fishy about it."

Belgica grinned.

"Oh, it is just that… Britannia is unpredictable."

"How that, unpredictable?"

"She has an uneven temper. She can change her mind in a few seconds. But the funniest, it is…"

"It is what?" I was scared that, just as Gaul, she wouldn't say another word just to tease me.

"My boars are amazing right? They are scary at first, but such good buddies when you start to know them."

"What's the link between them and Britannia?"

"Her pets are like mine, but they are stronger. You will be so surprised when you will see them I want to accompany you."

I couldn't sleep of the night. I kept wondering what Britannia looked like. Was she more romantic than Gaul, wilder than Belgica, scarier than Germania? What was Caesar planning to do? And why did Gaul and her sisters laughed at me? I couldn't avoid thinking they hopped their relative to give me a hard time. What if she did? Would they take advantage of it and claim independence? There was no way I would let that happens.

At seven in the morning, a soldier came to pick me up. Caesar was on the move and I had to follow him. Apparently, he decided in one night to make that expedition to Britannia.

"Please think a little more carefully." I begged him. "We will soon be in autumn. We need more preparations."

"No. If the rumours about Britannia are true, we have to do something while she's not expecting us. All those barbarians hide us something and I want to know what's so special about her."

Two weeks later, our boats left the harbour. We had two entire legions with us, plus Belgica and some of her warriors. I wasn't sure she would be of any help. She considered it as a business trip. She was actually planning to use our expedition to make some more trade with her sister. She had taken many barrels of beer, cider and different kind of dried fruits on her own boat. I suspected her to be ready to sell them to me when my army would be in trouble. After one day, I left Caesar who didn't stop talking about what he should write to Pompey and Crassus, his Triumvirate's partners. The intrigues of Roman senators bothered him much than the mysterious nation he had decided to invade.

As I walked on the deck, I noticed the sky had become suddenly dark. A storm was coming. I heard the sound of a horn. Belgica's ship was close to mine and she was trying to call me.

"Prepare yourself! Britannia's coming."

"Where? The sky is so dark…She shouldn't take the sea with a storm coming."

"She is the one creating the storm! She is going to test you with her strongest natural ally."

"She… Wait! How is she able to create a storm?"

"Magic! She's a powerful witch."

"Why didn't you say it sooner?"

"Would you believe me?"

"Of course! It is not like Egypt can't throw curses and Greece, summon an entire army of mythological creatures."

"How… sorry. The Germanic brothers don't believe in magic and in Britannia's pets. They can't see them."

"What's going on here?"

Caesar heard us and appeared on the deck. I explained him that Belgica had just told me that Britannia was planning to attack us during the storm. He immediately gave orders to reach the coast as soon as possible.

"And it is now she says it!" He shouted.

"It is your fault, stupid old man." Belgica answered. "You already had troubles with the weather when you fought against Armorica and you didn't even consider it could be worse in the ocean."

My general, furious, returned in his cabin and ordered me to follow him.

"You… make sure that insolent girl get punished when we get ashore. She doesn't have the right to talk to me like that."

I nodded. Man… It sounded like I was going to have new problems with the wildcat.

* * *

"_Britannia… Why does it sound like Britain?" Romano grumbled._

"_It is because she's his mother." Belgium explained. "She had a lot of children. Maybe you have already heard of Scotland or Wales…"_

"_Scot… Isn't he once of the bearded bastard's closest friends?"_

"_Yes, they are always allies when it comes to bully England."_

"_And… is that true she was a witch?" He was shaking. Wizards and witches were considered as evil in Italy._

"_Well, I know witches have bad reputation theses days, but they weren't considered as "bad" before the Christianisation of our lands. It was the pope, long ago, who decided that they were the enemies of God."_

"_Stupid Catholicism and stupid churchmen." Netherlands mumbled. _

"_And what kind of magic could she do? What's up with these pets that the Germanic brothers can't see?"_

"_I you believe in these creatures, then you can see them." Belgium explained. "But I never manage to see anything else than the woods' spirits of my grandmother and some angels."_

"_Same for me." Luxembourg sighted. "And you, Netherlands?"_

_The elder remained silent. _

"_Come on, Neddy. You keep travelling to Britain and Norway. I am sure you've already seen something."_

"_I have been to Scotland once, to see what his peat looks like…"_

_Luxembourg shivered. His big brother had already told him some scary stories about Scotland._

"_We slept in a castle near the Loch Ness… and during the night, we heard strange noises. I didn't see a thing, but Scotland told me it was a ghost."_

_Romano screamed. "That's it. I will make nightmares tonight and squirrels will attack me again."_

"_And at dawn, I saw something huge on the lake. Scotland dragged me up to the bank and he presented me his pet "Nessie", a huge monster with a long neck and big teeth."_

"_When you think Scotland is catholic… I really wonder what Britannia looked like. She wasn't Christian, after all."_

_They all remained silent a few seconds._

"_Just continue that damned book!" Romano ordered to Belgium._

* * *

**In Belgium, we don't have a lot of stories about ghosts or fairies. But we have some angels and Marian appearances. Plenty of places are also known for miracles achieved by the saints or natural spirits.**

**I visited Scotland when I was eight years old. Every castle we visited had a ghost's story. I also brought back a stuffed Nessie.**


	13. How I survived to scary monsters

**First I want to thanks all the people who gave me advices about the different monsters and the legends on Scandinavia… and thank you all for your reviews and your interest.**

**From now on, there will be a little more violence but I will do my best to stay in the "T" rating.**

* * *

**Chapter twelve: How I survived scary monsters**

The wind got up and the waves began to stir. Everyone on the deck was very agitated. I finally persuaded Belgica to join me on my boat in order to help us. She seemed full of willingness.

"From now on, no matter what you see, sail straight for the coast and let nothing disturb you."

"But my other boats…"

In only one day, my fleet scattered on the sea and we lost sight on many boats. If we changed direction, we might well loose half of the men.

"You will worry for them later. Just focus on reaching a beach. You know nothing of the Channel. Right now, you are dead meat for the Blue One."

"Blue One?"

My warrior instinct told me she had just spoken of the most important thing to know about Britannia.

"What is the "Blue One", Belgica?"

"Maybe I worry for nothing. Maybe we won't see him. She has already summoned a storm. She…"

I violently grabbed her wrist.

"Belgica, I am sick of theses mysteries. Explain everything to me before I loose my temper."

"The blue dragon…". I noticed a little fear in her eyes.

"What's a dragon?"

I guessed it was a fantastic beast of Celtic folklore, but I had no idea what it looked like.

"She has five dragons. Each one has a different colour and they all have different powers. The Blue One can fly by any weather, even in a hurricane, and swim in the most agitated seas, even in a maelstrom. He is strong enough to hunt whales by himself."

I had already seen whales on the West of Hispania. There were incredibly huge. What kind of beast was strong enough to hunt them all alone?

"So… that dragon can fly in the storm coming just like your falcon when he hunts innocent little birds?"

"Yes, that's kinda that… But maybe she won't use him. I told you she's unpredictable… You will definitively be safer on the land. The others dragons are slow and can't fly for long. You will resist them longer."

"And you didn't tell me about them just because you thought I would not believe you? Isn't that more that you hope something happens to me during the campaign?"

"Stop saying such things. Every sailor of the coast has heard about the blue dragon. If you took just a little more time to prepare your expedition, you would definitively hear about him. You are in this situation because Caesar rushes too much."

"ENOUGH, BOTH OF YOU!"

Caesar was furious. I could see our quarrels tired him. I must admit I also was at my limit with Belgica. A first, having cultural exchange with her was fun, but now, she was talking far too much and was saying things she should keep for herself. I had to teach her to know her place.

Just at that moment, a ship blew up sixty yard form us. We all jumped. I think I saw a giant pink tail disappear with the remains of the ship.

"What was that?" My general asked. There are not enemy ships in the area.

"I… don't know… That's not the method of the Blue one." Belgica answered.

We heard a shrill roaring coming form the sky. Far above us, something looking like a bat but with a long tail was flying.

"That's the Blue One… but then… what was is in the water?"

She ran to the rail. I followed her, giving orders to rescue the victims of the ship.

"No! I told you. You must not stop. You must not change of direction. You must reach the coast as quickly as you can. The Channel is cursed today!"

She was now looking anxious. Belgica - Anxious - Because of her sister and not me… But I felt really exited; I was about to fight legendary monsters just as the heroes of my old legends!

"For once, I agree with the girl." Caesar stopped me. "The sooner we reach the shore, the better."

And we headed forward to a dark landmass we could see at the horizon. After five minute of relatively quiet sailing, another boat, twenty yard from us, got attacked. Giant pink tentacles (I thought it was a tail the first time) seized his hull and pulled it down to the bottom.

"What the hell…" The sailors screamed.

"What is that, Belgica?"

"I… What is he doing here? He doesn't belong to Britannia…"

"What is it?"

"It is the Kraken, a giant squid. He belongs to the King Under the Fjord Scandinavia… Why is he…? Congratulations sis. That was really unexpected…"

"Thank you Sis!"

We all turned our head. At the other side of the boat, there was a freaking scary beast as big as an elephant, with bat's wings, blue scales and claws as big as swords. On its back, there was a girl in a dark cloak. She had wild blond stiff long hair and thick eyebrows. Was that Britannia? She didn't look very much like the Gallic sisters, maybe a little like Armorica, for the hair.

"Britannia…" Belgica said. So, that was well the last Gallic sister.

"You really should have stayed on your ship. Now I have to hurt you with the invaders."

"Do you know the King Under the Fjord's kraken wanders in the Channel?" Belgica asked.

"He asked me to babysit him. Today, the Kraken gets a breath of fresh air."

The blue dragon spread his gigantic wings and flew away.

"Britannia, wait!"

"The friends of my enemies are my enemies!" The insular nations shouted, before disappearing in a dark cloud.

"Was that a dream?" A sailor asked.

"A dream, are you kidding? That's a nightmare! That beast can eat a cow in one single bite." Someone complained.

"How are we supposed to fight such freaks?" Another one added.

Belgica ran at the front of the ship. "I think we will reach the shore in forty minutes. Everyone hold on!"

Fifty yard to the North, the Kraken attacked another boat. I felt the new loss of seventy worthy men as a huge blood loss. I started to feel dizzy, but it wasn't the time. The wind became suddenly violent. One of our sails tore in many pieces.

"That was the blue dragon." Belgica explained. "With its huge wings, it creates violent guts which are able of making capsize the biggest boat."

"And how can we survive them?" My poor Caesar begged.

The poor old man had been hurt. A flying piece of wood had hurt his shoulder and the blood covered his tunic. Nevertheless he fought with all his will to stand as the General of the Roman army. I fell so sorry for him in this instant and by seeing Belgica, I knew she wasn't insensible to his determination.

"Just as I told you…" Belgica said with a trembling voice: "… We have the Blue One in the sky and the Kraken in the sea. You should pray your gods we reach a beach safely. Right now, it doesn't matter all ships reach the meeting point. Just pray they survive the storm."

There was a new gust. The boat capsized. I tried to grab Caesar before he fell in the sea… The old man moaned: _Abyssus abyssum invocat…_ And everything turned dark.

* * *

_Luxembourg and Romano were holding each other, shaking… Belgium decided it was time to stop the story for today otherwise they would complain about squirrels this night._

"_Big sis… What's a Kraken? It looks so scary."_

"_Just as the story said, it is a giant squid, or a giant octopus; actually, I never saw its face… but that's not so different. Today, it is known as a legendary beast which immobilise ships first and then pull them down by the bottom by using its gigantic tentacles. It is Denmark who told me about it. He says it measures at least 70 yards long. It was their main weapon of mass destruction during the Viking Era."_

_Netherlands smirked: "Actually, a few years ago, I heard Denmark and Norway threatening Spain to set the Kraken on his armada if he dared to navigate in their little brother's territory. It looks like the King under the Fjord left a lot of things to them."_

"_Norway and Denmark… Not Sweden?" Luxembourg asked._

_Less than ten years ago, a huge crisis started between the children of the King under the Fjord. The three main children of the King Under the Fjord (Denmark, Sweden and Norway) and some younger had formed a powerful union in 1397: the Kalmar Union. But with time, Sweden became sick of Denmark's dominating attitude. After an awful row in 1520 known as the Stockholm's bloodbath, Sweden left his brother house. The once invincible Scandinavian family was now in deep trouble. Denmark, Norway and some of their little brothers in the Atlantic Ocean, seemed to have inherited their father's fearsome creatures. However, Sweden was far being weak and the mythological creatures were powerless against him. The future of the King under the Fjord's children was dark… _

"_Denmark thought that after a few years, his brother would beg him to let him come back. But instead, it looks like Sweden becomes stronger. And it is not like he is alone. He has a brave companion." Netherlands noticed. "I fact, I think I would rather bet on Sweden than Denmark."_

"_These brothers are about to fight to death and that makes you laugh?" His sister scolded him. _

"_Well, wars are expensive…" He said with the scarier grin he ever made._

* * *

**Okay, first, I must say I am a huge fan of Peer Gynt, and that's why I decided to call Scandinavia "the King under the Fjord". He didn't do a thing in the Gallic wars, but he was already known for living in a very strange place were the sun didn't set during the summer and where strange lights appeared at night (I supposed that's about aurora borealis). Scandinavia was so strange the Roman gave up messing with him. Instead, they used the Gallic sisters to trade with him.**


	14. How I discovered a conspiracy

**Chapter thirteen: How I discovered a conspiracy**

I woke on the sand of a beach. I was cold; I was wet; I felt like a total wreck. En then, I realised I was holding something in my arms. I saw grey hair. I tightened Caesar in my arms. By some kind of miracle, we were both alive on a beach and the storm had calmed down. I looked around. I saw some ships wrecks and bodies around me. I greeted Jupiter, Neptune, Minerva and all my other gods to afford the old man and I to live another day. I dragged the General in a dried area and did my best to heal him. I saw that some sailors and warriors woke up as well. The crossing of the Channel wasn't a total disaster after all. After a few minutes, we manage to wake up our leader and started to build up a camp. As I talked to every man in order to cheer them up, I realised someone was missing. Belgica wasn't there anymore. My heartbeats accelerate. What did happen to her? Did she drown? Did she reach another beach? Did Britannia rescue her? I had to find her. Otherwise, Gaul would kill me.

Caesar tried to review our situation. Apparently, we were on a British beach. We were one hundred soldiers instead of six thousand. Some food and material in the wrecks were still of use. We could stand for a few weeks. But the Britannia's campaign ended there. We weren't strong enough.

"We are going to create some scouting teams. Their mission will be to find as much survivors as possible. And be careful. Now we know the inhabitants are dangerous. The others create a safe base and try to rebuild as much ships as they can."

Everyone approved that plan and I formed the scouting team. We were twenty soldiers divided in four groups of five men. I wished we were more but Caesar top priority was the rebuilding of the ships. I ordered two teams to go south while I would explore the Northern coast with the others. We walked an hour before find another beach where three other ships managed to accost. The ships were in good shape, had food, material and more than one hundred soldiers ready to fight. We told them where our own camp was and told them to rejoin it. Courage was back. We all hoped many other men survived the storm and the monsters.

We continued our scouting. After thirty minutes, we found four other ships in a very bad shape and two hundred soldiers. As my men were resting at that new camp I decided to make a little exploration of the area. The British coast was quite impressive with its huge white cliffs. We really were lucky the storm brought our ships on safe beaches. If they hit the rocks they… And I realised it could have been the fate of half of the army. How did such a disaster happen? I should have been more careful. By seeing Gaul and Belgica, I should have guess how dangerous their sister was. I warned Caesar but I should have insisted…

And then, I thought of Gaul who refused to give me details on the girl. She knew and she did nothing! Belgica also knew and she cared only for her personal interest.

As I walked alongside the cliffs, I saw a bunch of humans in a valley. There was a huge and red creature with them. It looked a little like the blue dragon, but the beast was bigger and had smaller wings. I immediately thought of Belgica who told me there were five dragons with different colours. It was maybe one of them. I tried to approach them discreetly. When I was only thirty yards from them I hid behind a rock and spied on them. I quickly recognized the black cloak of Britannia. I had not made a mistake. She was talking with two other barbarians. One of them was a tall blond man with spiky hair. I had already seen him somewhere. Was he a tribe's leader? The last person removed his coat. I saw a golden mane… it was Belgica!

So, the girl was safe. She already had changed clothes and she was having a secret meeting with the enemy. I felt it as a stab. So, she really betrayed me and all those losses were her fault.

The discussion continued for ten minutes. The two girls did not seem all right and Belgica was angry. "It serves you right! You can't betray me without paying the price." I thought. After a long time, Britannia and her dragon left. Belgica stayed with the man. He took her in his arms.

I felt my blood boiling. That guy was hugging her. She put her head on his shoulder… What kind of relation did she have with that jerk? I felt furious. She was supposed to belong to me. It was in my arms she had to rest. And then the worst came. The guy kissed her: a true lover kiss.

It was more than enough. I left my hiding place and returned to my camp. How dared she cheat on me? I saved her from the German brothers… I stopped. That was it! I remembered where I had seen that rival before. He was Frisi, Belgica's northern neighbour. That little bitch was not only treating with the witch, but also with Germania's family. She would regret it.

Two days later, we were back at Caesar's camp. During my exploration, we had found at least two thousand men. Most of them managed to reach the coast without too much difficulty. The only serious losses were inflicted by the Kraken. Our situation wasn't hopeless. The only problem was that we didn't have enough boats to transport that army. They were all too much damaged. We couldn't go back and I don't think we would stand a very long time in that camp near the beach. I entered Caesar's tent in order to make my full report, but he was in full conversation with a girl, Belgica.

I was too surprised by her nerves to say anything. When they realised I was there, they both welcomed me. Caesar seemed to feel much better than when I last saw him. Belgica had a kind smile, but I knew she was faking it.

"Belgica just came back from a meeting with her sister. She has plenty of things to say." The old man said with an honest smile. I still said nothing. I wondered what she was planning to do. I decided to let her speak. It might help to figure out what she was up to.

"When the boat capsized and that everyone fell to the sea, Britannia rescued me. The Blue One fished me up…"

She seemed to search her words.

"When we arrived at her home, she asked me to help her to get rid of you once and for all. Actually, she doesn't need my help to get you. She already knows where the other half of your fleet has landed."

"The other half?"

"According to her, a huge part of the fleet derived northward. I don't know if it is true. I didn't see them. I told you she was unpredictable, but it is obvious that she has the advantage of the number, the resources and the knowledge of the environment. She… didn't attack you yet because I told her you were planning to send another fleet right away. I earned you some time."

"How much time?" The general asked.

"It is hard to say. Logically, she will observe the sea. When she will see that the other fleet isn't there, she will come for you. It can take a few days, a week, maybe two…"

"So, we should take advantage of this saving of time to rejoin with the other part of the army and prepare to hold on her assault. We won't conquer her this time but we must contain her the time our ships are rebuilt."

That decision made sense, but I knew the traitor had something else in mind. Why did she save us some time while they could easily defeat us?

"Is there something else we are supposed to know about Britannia?" Caesar asked. "What about those "dragons" and your sister's magical powers? Who was that King under the Fjord? It is time you talk about them."

She nodded.

"I am sorry. I should have told you sooner. If I had warned you, things wouldn't have turned up that way. At that time, I was only thinking about the face Rome would make when he sees the dragons for the first time. That was childish…"

"Tell us, my child."

The General's attitude toward Belgica had radically changed since the wreck. He was far much kind and less suspicious. It was like him and I had exchange our personalities. As he was just talking with the girl, I just wanted to slap that traitor. Why was he so kind with her while he was so distrusting her before the storm?

"The fearsome creature that destroyed your ships is a legendary creature called the Kraken. It belongs to a brother of Germania: Scandinavia. He lives in a strange place covered by snow and mountains he calls "Fjords". The weather is very rude there. It is always cold and during the winter, the sun doesn't even appear. The rivers and even the sea freeze during the winter…"

Ceasar smiled. It was hard for him to believe such a story.

"His environment makes him especially strong, violent and immunized against the cold."

Ceasar and I stopped smiling. It started being interesting. I thought that if he could really resist the winter, he could be a good opponent against Helveti."

"Before your arrival, I used to trade a lot with him. But now that I belong to Germania's enemy, our trade agreements are broken. It is really troublesome for my business partners and I. The North folks have very interesting products."

Caesar's face radically changed. I didn't like that. She tried to corrupt him.

"What kind of products?"

"He has many fish and wild animals you would never see in your area. He gets a lot of things from them, like fur, meat… He's also an excellent craftsman when it comes to wood… but what would interest you the most is that."

She took a little bag which hung on her belt. She gave it to the General. He opened it, curious. Inside, there was a pretty golden necklace. His face illuminated. What was so special about it? I approach and took the jewel. I saw seven gems with a brown and translucent colour: _elektron_, amber.

"Do you mean he has amber?"

"He and some other little brothers living North of Germania have real mines. Before your arrival, Frisi and I had established a trade road for it. But of course, now I belong to Rome, the business has stopped. Frisi and Britannia won't let my ships and my merchants reach the _Mare Suebicum_."

"Fine, you won! What do we have to do for saving that trade road?"

And I finally understood what the mysterious meeting with Frisi and Britannia was about. It was a business meeting where they were trying to reach a commercial agreement.

"You need to establish a peace treaty with Frisi and give me the right to welcome foreign merchants. Then I will use our common water ways to import the amber on my territory, where you can get it in friendly price. And Frisi is ready to negotiate. He's actually on this island to make business with Britannia, but he thinks that dealing with Rome will be much more lucrative."

I held a swearword. She got me! I maybe had the advantage of strength, but she would soon be able to earn her freedom thanks to her business skills. And Ceasar fell for the trick. He had his head already full with amber.

I left the tent. I needed to calm down and to think. I was furious. My General would definitively use that "amber road" to renew his consul's mandate. That was why he was very kind with Belgica. And that bitch! She didn't even look at me when she was giving her explanations. She knew what she was doing. She didn't need to talk to me since it would be my bosses, Caesar and his Triumvirate, who would finally take the decision. I underestimated her. And to think that the Germanic boy would be soon wandering on her water ways and she, on his. I imagined the guy moving his dirty hands on her frail body… There was no way I would let that happens!

* * *

_Belgium and Netherlands smirked. They were so proud of their grandmother and grandfather._

"_See kids? You have inherited your trading skills from them. Money makes the world go round! Mwahahaha!"_

_Flanders was back and had read the next chapter with her two oldest children after the others went to bed. She was enjoying her mother's hours of glory. _

"_We always had that strategic position on the European continent. We are surrounded by important nations but thanks to our many rivers and our abilities to dispatch goods in every corner of Europe, all the traders come to our place. I think you can say the "Burgundian Netherlands", composed of most of their children, made the dream of Belgica and Frisi come true._

"_But that's also explains why all those important nations fight each other to "own" us." Belgium sighted. "Uncle France wants us so much!"_

_Flanders grinned and tried to cheer her daughter up. "Don't worry mijn schatje. You are far much stronger than you think. The blood of Belgica flows into your veins. So do I. Did I already tell you how I kicked France's ass at the beginning of the 14__th__ century?"_

_Her children answered at the same time: "You told it one thousand times!"_

* * *

**I read that the amber's trade during the Antiquity was as important as the silk and spices trade during the Middle Ages. The merchants could travel several hundreds miles in order to get those precious organic stones and sell them to very high price in their country. Amber was very popular because it was used a lot in jewellery, but also because the humans had soon understood it had a lot of strange properties. For example, Germania used it to start fire. Both China and Greece discovered it had some strange magnetic abilities. The old greek word **_**Elektron**_** that meant "amber" gave birth, two millenniums later, to the words "electricity" and "electron" for that reason.**

_**Mare Suebicum **_**was the Latin word for the Baltic Sea.**

**Every Belgian child has, at least two or three times in his life, heard about the Bruges Matins and the Battle or the Golden Spurs that opposed France to a Flanders in search of Independence and helped in her fight by her brothers Zeeland and Namur**


	15. How I got cursed by a bunny

**Chapter fourteen: How I got cursed by a bunny.**

Five days later, when Britannia understood we weren't going to get any reinforcement, she decided to attack. Her warriors weren't as strong as the Belgians, we managed to contain the first and the second wave. I must admit we were lucky she didn't use magic. After the end of her second attack, I stole a horse and pursue her alone. After free hours, we reached a strange circle of standing stones in the countryside, in the middle of nowhere. There, she finally stopped running and faced me.

"So what? Is that a special place like a sanctuary where you can summon your creatures? You are going to protect yourself by sending something to fight for you?"

She grinned and waved a small staff.

"Britannia's summoning! Red One, I choose you!"

The stones glowed and a strange light appeared at the centre of the stone's circle. The head of a giant lizard came out of it. Crap. The red dragon…

"I usually don't summon my dragons when they are many people around because my folk would beg for their help far too often. But in a battle between nations, I really don't see why I shouldn't call them."

"What an honour."

I tried to be brave but in fact, I kept wondering how the great Hercules managed to defeat such huge monsters. The creature opened its mouth and breathed fire. My new horse and I barely dodged it. What in the hell was I supposed to do? The weakest point of the beast seemed to be his throat, but how could I reach it without roasting as a piece of meat? I still had my spear but I knew it wouldn't be enough to kill that creature. No, the best solution was still to capture Britannia. According to Belgica, that dragon was rather slow and its only dangerous weapons were its fire breath and its tail. It was time to check if she had lied on this as well. I made my horse turn around the monster. It was true, it couldn't move as quickly as I. In no time, I was in his back where I had to dodge a dangerous tail covered with huge spines and waving like a whip. I rushed on the witch, but when I was at three yards from her, I was violently hit by something and I fell from my horse.

When I looked around me, I saw a strange fluffy thing flying in front of me. It looked like a rabbit, but it had wings and it was green. Another folkloric creature! I jumped on my feet and dodged another fire's breath.

"Ruby, Stop!" Britannia shouted. She was panicking. She seemed to worry for the flying thing which kept turning around me in order to distract me.

"Get away from me or you're going to end in rabbit stew." I threatened him.

"In your dreams! You will regret bullying my friend!"

"What the… the rabbit talked! Britannia, your rabbit is talking!"

"Mint, that's enough help. Run away." Britannia ordered him. But it looked like I hit a nerve and the little thing was furious.

"I am not a rabbit. I am the mighty and fearsome Flying Mint Bunny!"

"Yeah, whatever, you tiny little pet!"

"I am not a pet!" And he tried to charge again. If he had the size of a Belgian boar, I might have worried, but in its case, he was just too cute. I grabbed him before he could hurt me.

"You bastard!" Britannia yelled. She was now furious. "Release him at once!"

"No way!" And I realised how much profit I could make of the situation. She had forbidden her dragon to attack while the Flying Mint Bunny was near me. The creature might be a valuable hostage.

"Britannia is going to send a peace delegation." I announced Caesar.

"What, just like that? We just repelled two of her assaults."

"She's ready to negotiate, and we already have our hostage." And I showed him my spoil of war, the tiny green rabbit.

"What is that?"

"It looks like it is…"

"I am the mighty Flying Mint Bunny, you nasty human! And if you don't free me at once, Britannia will unleash the dark forces of the other world on your army and your country!"

"By Bacchus, that bunny can talk!" An officer said in astonishment.

"She will not." I answered. "She would have let the Red One roast us both if it was the case."

"Lord Rome, are you sure?" Caesar couldn't believe we may conquer the land of the witch with the capture of her magical pet.

"Well, at least, we will hold on until our ships are repaired. Then, we go back to the continent, gather at least five legions. After that we settle things with Britannia when we have a good weather."

"I won't let you do that!" The bunny protested. "I will escape!"

I teased him by patting him on his head.

"And how will yoAAAAAARGH!" That son of a bitch bit me. Caesar laughed.

"A fearsome monster indeed. Fine, put it somewhere and keep an eye on him."

I walked in all the camp in search of a cage. I found a few of them, plus chains and many things useful when you want a prisoner to stay quiet. I put the bunny in a little chicken cage and that one in a bigger one. And finally, I brought everything in my tent. The magical creature was furious and kept yelling: "You are a nasty, arrogant, cruel and stinky nation. I hope the Gallic Sisters will make you regret it!"

"They won't. I am far much stronger than them. If they start an uprising, I will just punish them and teach them how to be obedient servants."

"Who's going to be an obedient servant?"

Belgica had entered the tent with a basket of bread, cheese and jam. She came in without waiting for my permission.

"Your boss asked me to bring you some food. To whom did you speak?"

And she saw my little hostage in its cage.

"Belgica, save me!" The bunny begged.

"Why is Flying Mint Bunny is such a cage?" She asked. So, she knew that creature.

"He's my guest. As long as I will have him, Britannia won't attack me."

"Do… do you realise what you're doing?"

"Is there something you've forgot to tell me again?"

"I didn't expect you to meet that little fellow. Sorry. Britannia has so much magical friends I can't think of all of them."

"I am not a little fellow! I am the…"

"Shut up!" I said while giving a blow to its cage. "So? What's so special about him? Britannia couldn't do a thing while I had it in my hands." And I watched the little wound the bunny had done to me. It was still painful. All of this irritated me.

"Flying Mint Bunny is a magic spell all by himself." She explained. If you're kind with him, he will bring you luck and happiness. If you have a bad behaviour, then it will be misfortune and sadness. Britannia always treated him as her best friend and she never had to complain about her life. But you… should better be careful. You don't want misfortune to happen to you."

"Is that a threat?"

"It is a warning, you idiot. You are always so careless."

She really wanted to make me angry. I had enough of her lectures and the way she kept calling me an "idiot".

"Watch your words. I remind you that neither you nor any of your sisters have ever won against me."

"We will try harder next time." She answered with challenge. She shouldn't have said that. That provocation made me loose my self-control. I grabbed her wrist and threw her down.

"Belgica!" The bunny cried.

I didn't give her the time to recover. I sat on top of her and decided to immobilize her.

"What are you doing? Let me go at once!" She protested.

"There are a few things you need to learn, Wildcat. First, you are NOT in place to give me orders. I am YOUR master…"

She struggled, trying to get away. I took her arms and held them on the ground.

"Second, you committed a big mistake by talking of the amber road only to Caesar. He's just a man and he's already more than forty years old. He won't live very much longer and even if it was the case, nothing says that he will still be my boss in five years. That deal you concluded with him will end with him. I, on the other hand, will still remain and I won't forget how you tried to escape from me to take refuge in Frisi's arms…"

I could see fear and anger in her eyes. She tried again to release herself from my embrace. I slapped her and chained her. I fell so strong, so powerful. I got carried away. The girl wasn't as voluptuous as Gaul, but she still was very appetizing.

"You are going to miss a golden opportunity, you idiot!" She yelled. "And what do you think Gaul and the others will think about what you are doing?"

"… Third, you belong to me. I will do whatever I want with your body and the opinion of my other underlings doesn't matter!"

And I tore her dress.

For my misfortune, the curse of the Flying Mint Bunny had activated and real troubles were about to start.

* * *

**Never mess with a Flying Mint Bunny!**

**At that part of the Gallic Wars, we are in the autumn of 55 BC. Caesar has still 11 years to live. **


	16. How something is rotten in the Republic

**Hello everyone! New chapter!**

**This time, the chapter will begin with the "1530" timeline. I thought it was time to talk a little more about the heirs of Rome.**

* * *

**Chapter fifteen: How something is rotten in the Republic of Rome.**

_Belgium had stopped reading the "Gallic wars" for a while because her main listeners were gone. Luxembourg had been invited to play at Holy Roman Empire's house and Romano had to go back home in order to prepare a ceremony for the crowning of his new Boss._

_Charles V was about to receive the iron crown of Italy. He would become the Italian true king and the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire at the same time. The little boy was not really happy about that. That new king had destroyed his pretty capital of Rome three years ago. The simple idea of that man wandering in the ruins of his city made Romano sick. He was certain he would vomit if he met that man or Spain. _

"_I hate him! I hate him! I hate him!" The little boy kept yelling. Belgium decided to accompany him in Rome in order to support him. Netherlands and her mother would take care of day-to-day matters during her absence._

"_Your boss and Spain are evil." Romano mumbled while they navigated towards the Mediterranean Sea. "God will punish them!"_

"_Don't rely on God to solve your problems!" She scolded him. _

"_But… what else can I do?" The little boy was about to cry. Belgium's heart melted. She took him into her arms._

"_I have to choose between that bastard and the French pervert… No, in fact, I don't even have the choice. The pope was on France's side and that's how Rome was plundered and half of the citizen died. And in spite of all these deaths, that tomato bastard dares smile to me with such a stupid face. I so hate him."_

_Belgium stayed silent. She was also shocked by the violence of the Spanish Army during the Sack of Rome. But for Charles V defence, the disaster happened only because the leader of the imperial army was killed during the assault, causing a big disorder among the soldiers. Her cool boss didn't meant that sack to be so violent. Spain didn't want it as well. She remembered him crying near the unconscious bodies of the tiny Italians brothers. She thought the main reason he ran away in the new world was that he felt guilty for what happened to the two innocent children._

_Romano continued:_

"_Your grandmother Belgica too must have hated my grandpa for what he did to her during the Gallic Wars, right? He destroyed her villages, her tribes, he enslaved her people and she had no other solution than living with him… I am so sorry!"_

_And the little boy wept buckets of tears. _

"_Hey, why are you sorry? That's not your fault."_

"_But… I used to be so proud of Grandpa Rome and of his inheritance. I didn't realise how it feels to be the conquered land… I know it now. I am sorry for not realising it sooner."_

"_It is okay, I forgive you." That kid was so cute. How could he be the grandson of the evil Roman Empire who invaded Belgica?_

"_The story… the Gallic Wars, I am not sure I want to know the end of the story." Romano said. "It cannot end well, right? Since he's cursed by the Flying Mint Bunny, everyone will hate Grandpa and leave him. He will be all alone and will disappear."_

"_Romano, I think you should listen to the story until the very end. I think you may find a solution to your problems in it."_

"_Why?"_

"_Live is an eternal resumption. A nation can commit the same mistakes again and over again, but it can also learn about them and change its destiny."_

_Romano tried to dry his tears._

"_Did… did your grandmother get her revenge on Grandpa Rome?"_

_Belgium's face became darker._

"_She did…"_

"_What's wrong?"_

"_I am not sure I am proud of the way she got it…"_

* * *

The return trip was incredibly quiet. The sea was calm. The wind blew in the good direction. There weren't any cloud at the horizon. Britannia had done everything she could in order to protect her dear bunny that I had taken with me. Since she had obeyed me, I was thinking of releasing the little creature as soon as I landed on the continent. I had no more use of him anyway.

Actually, the crossing was too quiet. It was almost boring. Belgica wasn't there anymore to lecture me. Since that famous day, she tried to avoid me as much as she could. She was now hiding in the hold of the ship and didn't talk to anyone. She had stopped calling me an idiot and saying I was doing everything the wrong way. I found that great at first, but now, I missed the energetic girl of the first days.

I was sure I had done the right thing. I had to make her understand where her place was. She had become too confident. She was trying to leave me. I had to… Yes, that was the only thing to do. She belonged to me. She had to know how works the annexation of a territory. From that moment, I was the only one who would have the right to touch her and I had to teach her that. I thought naively that she would learn and forgive as a good girl.

When we finally landed on Gaul's territory, I made sure an entire army would escort the wildcat back home. I didn't want Gaul to see her now. She wouldn't understand. After Belgica's departure, I took the Flying Mint Bunny's cage and opened him. At first, the little creature didn't move. He was suspicious.

"Hey, you are free. You can get out now."

"I don't trust you!"

"Come on! I don't have any use of you anymore. So why should I keep you? Hurry and go back to Britannia. She must miss you!"

The bunny didn't answer and didn't move.

"Fine, do as you like. I will let the cage like this. When you feel like it, you can go."

I didn't want to force the flying rabbit to leave its cage. The bite he had done to me helped me remember what he was able to. The wound didn't heal. The skin around it had swept and turned black. That was quite unexpected and it didn't announce anything good. The last time I got such a wound, a civil war started.

"What are you doing, big boy?"

Gaul was coming. She was still as wonderful as ever… actually, wasn't her breast bigger than when I last saw her? I had to check…

"I…"

"Gaul!"

The Flying Mint Bunny jumped out of his jail and took refuge in her arms. He smuggled up to her breast. The little brat!

"Hey, long time no seen, Mighty Flying Mint Rabbit. How do I have the pleasure…"

"That nasty nation captured me and took me away."

Gaul looked at me.

"So… I guess Belgica didn't warn you after all."

"Against what should she warn me; the bunny, the dragons, the storm? Thank you so much for doing her job."

"So… you had the honour of facing a dragon? She doesn't summon them a lot. The first time you see them is always very impressive"

"A dragon and a kraken poured half of my fleet! Another dragon tried to roast me and the little thing in your arms bit me."

"He… Bunny, you did?"

"Of course I did! He's bad, violent, greedy and arrogant!"

"That's what you need to rule the world!" I protested.

I expected her to smirk, but instead, she had a grave look.

"Show me the wound!"

"It is fine… I…"

She grabbed my injured hand.

"Do you realise that if you were a mortal, the druids would already be thinking of cutting your hand? It is disgusting. It looks like gangrene."

"Yeah, and it means there is something rotten in my republic..."

"Why are you so calm?"

"It already happened to me. I am already seven hundred years old, I used to be a kingdom and I turned into a republic where all the aristocratic families intrigue to seize some power. I already knew some politic crisis… But don't worry, my Triumvirate will deal with it."

"If only you were right…"

She hid her face, but I could see she was worried.

"You know, two centuries ago, Bunny bit Hispania…"

"Of course I did! That idiot insulted us!" The magical creature said.

"… And right after, he was invaded by Carthage. That's why we never want Bunny to be sad or angry."

I remember the warning of Belgica just before I …

"You should focus on the way of getting rid of that… thing. Don't start anything else while it is there." She said.

* * *

**The Sack of Rome : 1527, After the pope Clement VII took position for the king of France once again, Charles V (but if it doesn't bother you, I will call him the French way: Charles Quint) decided to send his army under the control of duke Charles III de Bourbons to "negotiate" with him. However, the duke died during the assault and his successor hadn't a lot of authority. When he ordered his troops to cease the sack, very few obeyed… And you wonder why Romano dislikes Spain.**


	17. How he got a new life

**Hello everyone and sorry for posting so late. Spring is finally back and I want to take advantage of the slightest sunbeam. **

**In this chapter, I introduce nations living around the Mediterranean Sea: Parthian Empire and Mother Egypt. Parthian Empire will have a role later, so it is better to introduce him now. And since Mother Egypt is my favourite ancient civilisation ever, I had to use her and make her look cool.**

* * *

**Chapter sixteen: How he got a new life.**

I decided it was time to explain to Caesar what I had done to Belgica. After such a thing, the amber road so precious for him would be out of question and the sooner he learns it, the better.

"You did WHAT?"

Was he becoming deaf? I repeated for the fourth time: "I-forced-her-to-have-intercourses. And I thing it was the right thing to do because she was getting too cocky. She's still too close to the Germans. She has to learn who her master is."

"Did you think to the consequences? What if she … all right, I will send more legions on her territory. But what an irony…" He sighted, but had a little smile. It aroused my curiosity.

"… When we landed, I heard that Belgica's tribe Treviri had a succession's problem. Two men were fighting for the sovereignty. I decided to interfere. I sent one legion to support the first of the candidate who would submit himself to my authority. The winner was a guy called Cingetorix. The other one, Indutiomarus, ran away. People think he's in Germania's territory."

Although I was used to the fact that the actions between nations had effect on the decisions of mortals, I was still surprised by the synchronization of the events.

"Some of my men also stopped an uprising on Morini's territory. Belgica is as troublesome as ever. We both made the right choice. I am sure of it."

I nodded. I would do anything in my power to keep the wildcat by my side and turn her in a cute little kitten.

Since cold was coming, Caesar decided all the legions would take their winter quarters. He returned himself to Rome in order to take care of his political business. I followed him. I was quite sure the only way of getting rid of that disgusting injury was to go back to the capital and check what was going on. Maybe the corruption had done some serious damages to my institutions. So, we left the Gallic sisters with most of our legions to protect them and headed south-East. Caesar had given the order to the legions posted near the coast or important water ways to build as much ships as they could for the spring. He was planning to make a second campaign to Britannia's Island as soon as possible.

When we arrived to the capital, we discovered we were right to worry. During our absence, some senators had led a cabal against Caesar and his Triumvirate. Since the consul's mandates of my bosses were about to expire, those senators were accusing Caesar to be as violent as the barbarians we had just submitted. They were doing everything to steal the mandates from my bosses. I was furious. We had accomplished something no-one has ever done before. We had defeated and conquered the fearsome Gallic's people who had plundered and threatened me for most than 250 years and they were calling him a mere "barbarian" unable to control the lands he had conquered.

"That's here we are going to regret the loss of the amber road." Caesar sighted. "Such a treasure would have changed everyone's mind very easily."

And he headed straight for his associate Pompey's _domus_. I didn't follow him. It wasn't like my mind would be taken into account in the Triumvirates intrigues.

Instead, I wandered in the crowded streets of my awesome capital

I didn't have the time to rest. The citizen who recognized me begged me to answer their questions.

"Lord Rome, is that true? Did you conquer all the Gallic's peoples"

"What does Gaul look like?"

"Is that true they craft huge dolls for their human sacrifices?"

"Will you continue the war?"

They brought me in the middle of the forum, offered me delicious food and wine, but I couldn't taste them because I had to tell my adventures. They were all captivated. I liked those guys far much more than my aristocrats. They, at least, knew how amazing the roman army was and wouldn't criticize them just because they weren't the ones who had taken the initiative. As the sun set and the plebs was trying to bring me in a famous tavern, a litter and its escort of guards made their appearance. It looked like one of my nobles wanted to invite me to take a refined meal in his _domus_. That wouldn't be as fun that a night in the tavern, but it had been such a long time since I hadn't participated to a real banquet. I missed them so much during the Gallic's campaigns. I left of my friends and climbed into the litter.

The noble who invited me was Marcus Tullius Cicero, the big brother of Quintus Cicero, the captain who made such a good job on Belgian's territory. He was one of my most important senators and an excellent speaker. He was one of the smartest men I ever met. It wasn't the first time he invited me and I enjoyed each of his feasts. But since the political atmosphere was very tense, I guessed he had a hidden reason to receive me tonight.

He led me to his _Triclinium_ were the dishes were waiting for us. I lengthened on a _klinae_. I was really hungry. My refined food was definitively the thing I missed the most during my long travels.

"We received some "letters" of Caesar describing the military campaigns." Cicero started. "His stories were so amazing I was wondering if they were true. But if it is, there is someone I wanted to present to you."

He made a sign to his servants to enter with other dishes. Many of them were tall and blond… Gallic slaves.

"Caesar made a lot of prisoners indeed, and he did great things for us and for you… So I would really be a fool not believing his stories."

That was a skilful flattery. But I didn't understand what was his goal.

"However, the letters didn't explain that…"

A jar of cold water was poured on my head. I jumped to see a Gallic slave looking at me with hate and disgust. He had done it on purpose. His face… was so familiar.

"Hey! What was that! Soldiers, take that slave into the store house and teach him some good manners!" Cicero ordered. "My apologises, my lord. I got him one month ago and he gives me a lot of troubles. Actually, he was the person I …"

"Where did you get him? What's his name?"

"I bought him to the slave market, in the shop of Servillius. I bought four of them at the same time. They are strong and solid, so I thought it would be a good investment, but they are so stubborn I waste a lot of time and energy in their education."

No, he couldn't have got that guy in the slave market. He didn't have the right to buy someone like him.

"Hem, if you don't mind, I want to punish him myself. Actually, if you could gave it to me…"

The senator was amazed and thought for a few seconds.

"So, I wasn't wrong. He… is like you."

"You knew?"

"He's just so strange, and he recovers pretty fast."

"His place isn't here. As a "nation's representative", I have to take care of him."

After an hour of negotiation, Cicero eventually agreed to give the strange nation over to me. He exchanged him against a lot of information on Caesar and his projects. I had no doubt he would make good use of them in the political crisis, but it was not my business. What an old weasel! I was sure he was too scared of the slave to keep him. He wanted to get rid of him at any cost but he still managed to make profit of the situation.

After the banquet, I returned to my villa with my new acquisition. The guy didn't say a word, but he still had that rebellious gaze on his face. I didn't really know what to do about him. If Caesar learned that he was still alive, he would take drastic measures. And how in the hell was he still alive, and here?

"Okay, I am going to lead you a bedroom. Don't leave it until I come back."

He didn't answer, but he obeyed. When he was settled well, I ran to the house of the only person able to explain what did happen to the Germanic tribe: the immortal magician Egypt.

I found her performing a strange spell on an amulet. At least, she was still practising magic.

"What are you doing here? Don't you see I am busy?"

"I am sorry, but it is an emergency, and you are the only person who can help me."

"Did you miss anything in a ritual of burial and got haunted by a ghost? How much time did I tell you mummification in the only right method!"

"That's not quite that… In fact, I have a problem with a nation I sure I killed."

She had a strange look.

"You live since more than three thousand years. You eventually saw nations and empires dying and other taking their place. I am sure you know why he resurrected in a slave shop."

She opened her big beautiful made up eyes.

"Is he still a nation?"

"Well, the guy who found him realised he was different and recovered pretty quickly."

"It sounds interesting. Give me a minute. I have to pack a few things. I will come with you and have a look at him."

When we came back to my villa, we went straight to my "servant's" room. The guy always sat on his bed. He hadn't slept and was still upset. Egypt didn't care and sat next to him.

"So, big boy… what's your name?"

" I don't know…"

"His name is Tencteri. He's the avatar of a Germanic tribe. Seven months ago, my boss ordered the execution of his entire citizen. He disappeared in front of my eyes."

"Don't interfere, Rome. I have to check which kind of memories he still has."

I remained silent while she asked him many different questions. It appeared he didn't remember his previous execution or his existence as Tencteri, but he still had some memories of the Germanic fields, his former languages and traditions. At dawn, Egypt had figured what happened to him.

"He's not Tencteri anymore! But he has reborn as a new entity. That kind of event is very rare, but sometimes, deported populations which share some cultural aspects merge and create a new entity. I guess we can say that blond giant represent the Gallic and Germanic cultural aspects your hundred thousand new slaves brought with them."

It was a little bit difficult to understand.

"You captured one hundred thousand slaves in your recent conquests and brought them back home. You can't expect your culture destroy theirs in just a few years, they are far too much and it is not like you care about their education. Actually, they all hate you so much for stealing their freedom they will do everything in their power to keep their traditions alive."

"So… If I understand well, there is a new culture in my own… Since it is the one of my slaves, he is my servant, but he hates me. Great!"

And then, I realised… I removed the bandages wrapping my cursed hand and showed it to Egypt. Her face became white.

"Oh, Shit! You are in deep troubles."

"Do you know what it means?"

"It can mean so many things; a political crisis, a religious crisis… But what's sure, it is that this kind of injury may kill you. It is not like when we catch a "cold". These wounds show that something in our societies doesn't work anymore and can entail the entire system in its fall. It is still only on your hand for now, so it may heal with time and the right measures, but if it spreads on your arm, you will have to "cut it" if you want to live!"

"You sure know a lot of things."

"I suffered form that by the past."

"How…"

"That's why I divide my diary in four main parts: the Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, New Kingdom and Late Period. Between these parts, I got those dangerous wounds and recovered every time thanks a great leader who kicked the invaders out and brought order back. But it often took a few decades to heal."

"I got bit by a Gallic creature. Do you think the problem comes from them, from that… crap, How must I call my new servant if he's not Tencteri anymore?"

"You can call me Gallo-Roman, you jerk!" The guy said.

"Silence, slave!" I mumbled.

"That's a possibility, but my experience tells me the problem usually comes from people which have the power to command you."

"Okay, thanks a lot Egypt. You really are the queen of mysteries and magic."

"You're welcome. Now, if you don't mind, I have to finish throwing a curse on Parthian Empire."

"You sure don't want to have dinner with me?"

"Do you want another curse?"

"Fine, see you later."

And my beautiful magician left. I looked at my hand. "A strong leader bringing a new order… Can Caesar do it?"

* * *

**Treviri and Morini are two of the main Belgian Tribes. Morini's territory is in the French and Belgian Flanders area. Treviri's territory correspond to the one of Luxembourg, South Belgium and a little part of Germany. The German city of Trier (Trèves in French) got its name in their memory.**

**The "domus" are the nobles houses in the Roman city, just like the Mansions now. The "triclinium" is the dinning room in those buildings and the klinai, the sofa in this room.**

**Parthian Empire is one of the many empires which succeeded each other in Mesopotamia. Very strong, he fought against Rome many times.**


	18. How to become the true boss

**Hello everyone. **

**Today, I can announce I have written the two thirds of the story. They are only four main events left. I think I can write them in less than twelve chapters. However, I usually planed to make the ending of my story coincide with the end of Caesar's book, but now I realise the importance of the Gallic Wars in Roman politics, I wonder if I should write a sequel until 44BC? What do you think?**

**Once again, the chapter with both Rome's point of view and Romano's one was too big, so I decided to split it in two. This chapter will talk about Rome, the next one will be with Romano who will learn a few things about the mysteries of life.**

**Enjoy the chapter and please review, it cheers me up.**

* * *

**Chapter seventeen: How to become the true boss.**

I spent the winter thinking to Egypt's advices. My republic was reaching its limits. It didn't look like democracy anymore. The power was in the hands of the aristocracy and in its hands only since more than one hundred years ago. Then, Germania and two of his little brothers tried to seize my vital regions (one of them was especially weird. He had silver hair, red eyes and was always yelling he was more awesome than me. What was his name again, Teutones?). The Consul of that time, who had bought his mandate, had sudden a humiliating defeat. I received my first cursed wound at that moment. While the Germanic family was kidnapping Narbonensis and Hispania, I finally found a hero: Gaius Marcus. He wasn't a noble but a great military leader. The senate eventually knew his priority was to save my vassals and me. They named him consul and gave him authorization to do everything he wanted in order to repel the invaders. Nobody in my republic had ever received so much power. Marcus succeeded beyond the expectations. Germania and his brothers were expelled. Narbonensis and Hispania were saved. I had an awesome new army… but the wound didn't heal. As soon as the Senate had no more use of Marcus, he tried to get rid of him, and the civil war started. Additionally, he was the uncle of Caesar.

When I watched to Caesar, I was sure he wanted to succeed where that man failed. He wanted to become my only ruler with or without the blessing of the Senate. The question was: Would he succeed or would it be a new civil war? If a new civil war started, I was sure I would loose Gaul and her sisters right away… And maybe my existence would really be in danger.

To my surprise, my general was re-elected as consul without difficulties. It was due to his victories, Pompey and Crassus's money and Cicero's influence. The senator had chosen to bet on him. I looked at my hand. It had deflated. I wanted it to be a sign we were on the good way.

With that problem solved, my leader decided it was time to go back to Gaul see how the production of boats was going. Spring was almost there and Caesar wanted to clear things up with Britannia. So we left the capital and I told Gallo-Roman not to leave my villa. (I didn't speak about him to my leaders. I didn't want them to hurt him again.) After one month of travel, we reached the land of Armorica where our new fleet was waiting for us. Our men managed to build six hundred ships. It was six times what we had during our first campaign.

"Excellent! She won't stand a chance." Caesar grinned. "Start the preparations!"

His captains nodded and returned with their troops. Then, Titus Labienus, the first lieutenant, requested an interview in private.

"I am worried about taking all the troops to this island. I don't trust the Gallic barbarians on the continent. As soon as we turn our eyes from them, they start plotting again."

I half agreed with him. Belgica, Armorica and Aquitania worried me, but not Gaul. She was more than reliable. She had always agreed to everything I said. She had even fought by my side in order to calm down her sisters.

"Indutiomarus has been seen in the territory of the Eburoni and the Nervii." He added. "We are still trying to catch him… All of this is highly suspicious. I am pretty sure they are waiting for our departure to start a general uprising."

Caesar thought a few seconds, and grinned.

"They won't. Lord Rome?" He called me. "Can you gather all the girls here? We are going to bring them with us to Britannia. They won't be able to start an uprising with such hostages."

I obeyed my boss and invited the Gallic sisters, and all of them came; Gaul, Belgica, Armorica, Aquitania and even Narbonensis. Caesar was a little surprised by the last one, because he didn't consider her as a barbarian. I had to explain him my plan. I wanted her to show her sisters how pleasant the Roman life was. I figured she would find the right words better than me. I knew women enough to know they can't resist wearing new dresses and jewels. I was certain Narbonensis would persuade her sisters to try the Roman fashion. Caesar nodded with respect. That was an excellent idea indeed.

"Of course it is! I am the awesome and unique Roman Empire!"

"Yeah, right." He answered with a smile. "But now is the most difficult part. Now, tell them you want them to accompany you in our second Britannia's campaign."

"Hey! Why me?"

"Because you are the nation! I will do the same with their tribes' leaders."

I sighted. How in hell should I say to Belgica she had to return to Britannia again? And what about Gaul? I could now see she was pregnant. A new nation was about to be born. What was I going to do with her? I had to ask for Egypt's help again.

So, when I entered the tent where the Gallic family was gathered, I found Gaul and Aquitania examining the red dress of Narbonensis. Armorica was eating her beloved pancakes and Belgica was sulking in a corner.

"Hello, lovely nymphs!"

"Welcome back, Rome!"

Gaul and Narbonensis were the only ones who were really happy to see me. Aquitania welcomed me politely. Armorica was almost vulgar and Belgica…

"Go make you stamp by an elephant!"

"As cute as ever! How do you know about elephants?"

"I trade with Hispania and African tribes, you asshole! I also heard that Marcus Crassus, Caesar's associate in the Triumvirate, is leading a campaign against Parthia. Shouldn't you be with him rather than frolicking here?"

What? Crassus was going to war? How? When? I didn't hear anything about that. That was impossible! He was one of my leaders, a member of the Triumvirate. I should have heard about such a thing… No, actually, I paid attention only to Caesar's projects. From the three members of the Triumvirate, he was the only one who really interested me. In fact, I never met someone as interesting as him, and I doubted I would meet someone like him ever again. So, who cares about the two others who had everything form the very beginning?

Back to Belgica and the Gallic sisters:

"You are wrong. He's not going to war against anyone. He doesn't need to. He's my richest citizen."

"That's not what Gallo-Roman told me!"

The little… So, she was in contact with the reborn Tencteri… She was still in contact with the most suspicious peoples. I had to be really careful with her. I started thinking Caesar's plan of taking all of them as hostages was the best idea after all. The idea of bringing a harem with me was very pleasant, but if the wildcat was one of the girls…

"So, my sweet ladies… I thank you for coming here. I have to talk to you about a decision of my boss. As you must already know it, the six hundred ships' fleet will sail to Britannia."

All the smiles were gone. We were in serious business.

"So, in order to make things softer, my boss wants you to accompany us. If you come with us and negotiate with her, there might be fewer losses on both sides."

There was a big silent. After at least twenty seconds, Gaul spoke: "Do you mean you want us to ask Britannia to surrender?"

At least, she didn't notice we wanted her as a hostage. But I wasn't out of the woods yet.

"Just like I said, it's an idea of my boss!"

"And you said yourself Caesar may well not be your boss anymore in five years!" Belgica talked back, just to disturb me. I stayed calm and continued.

"Britannia didn't respect our last peace's treaty. She had to send us one hundred hostages and she sent only forty. Our goal, in this campaign, is just to make her agree our rules. Once we have the hundred hostages, and her acknowledgement of the Roman business rules, it will be over. She won't be a conquered land, but a business partner… And that's why I need you because I doubt she will trust me if I tell her myself."

"Yeah, since you kidnapped Flying Mint Bunny, she tagged you as the big bad guy." Gaul answered with a smirk.

"So, as soon as the weather allows it, we raise sails. I ask you not to leave this place so we won't waste time with the boarding."

"We didn't say we agreed to follow you!" Gaul protested.

I was astonished. It was the first time Gaul opposed to me since the beginning of Caesar's conquests.

"Of course we want your relationship with Britannia to improve, but just look at me!"

That was it; she was using her pregnancy as an excuse.

"I can't say anything for my sisters, but I can't make such a travel."

Good, she wasn't protecting her sisters. Actually, she never protected them a lot. She always thought they were big enough to stand on their own. I saw the look of her sisters. From now on, everyone was on his own. I could take advantage of it.

"In fact, there's no need excuses. You are all going with us; and I don't care about work, babies or riots!"

The next morning, when I made my report to Ceasar, I learned about another sad coincidence. Just as Gaul opposed me, one of her most important leaders, Dumnorix, leader of the very influent Aedui's Tribe, refused to accompany us. He even tried to run away. Caesar just ordered to execute him. After his death, all the Aedui's horsemen agreed to follow him, just like my Gaul who looked resigned.

Three weeks later, when the weather seemed stable enough, we embarked with the five Gallic sisters and their leaders as hostages, five legions and two thousand horsemen. I thought everything was for the best, but Caesar looked disturbed. When I tried to question him, he avoided me. My wounded hand itched me again. I smelled something fishy. When we landed safe and sound two days later on a British beach, I took advantage of the disorder to sneak into his tent and found a letter. The letter said Caesar's daughter Julia, married to his ally Pompey, passed away.

I shivered. With the death of this poor girl, how much time would my Triumvirate hold on?

* * *

**Nervii and Eburoni are two of the most important Belgian tribes. The Nervii lived in the middle of Belgium. The Eburoni's tribe reign over the Ardennes. Don't forget Eburoni, don't forget it.**

**Aedui is one of the main tribes in Gaul (it is the one who made an alliance with Rome at the begining of the story). Its territory corresponded more or less to the actual Burgundy.**

**Parthia is a shorter name for Parthian Empire.**

**Otherwise, who has already looked at the series "Rome"? Some characters of my fic may already sound familiar to you, but there will be more of them soon enough.**


	19. How are born the babies

**Chapter eighteen: How are born the babies?**

"_I think we can stop here for today." Belgium said. The heir of Rome and she were now back to Brussels. Luxembourg was back too and the she-nation had continued the story. But something in the execution of Dumnorix disturbed the children._

"_Wait… was Gaul really pregnant? How can a nation be pregnant?" Romano asked. The young little nation had already learned a lot of things about the mysteries of life thanks to Renaissance and knew how babies were made. But he also knew that a she-nation couldn't be pregnant just as a mere mortal._

"_I don't know a lot of things about it myself. You should ask about it to my mother. After all, Flanders gave birth at many children."_

"_What do I have to explain?" Flanders asked from the nearby room._

"_Moeder, can you come here? The young ones don't understand how female nations can be pregnant."_

"_Geez, I hate talking about that kind of things. That's not the kind of story you tell to kids before going to bed."_

"_Please Madam," Romano asked very politely. Flanders impressed him too much. He didn't dare to use his usual swearwords in her presence. _

"_Fine, if it is the cutie pie who requests it…"_

_Flanders also had a soft spot for the little Italian nation. She knew him from a very long time ago, but she had grown up when the little guy didn't, so nothing really happened between them. But she hopped he would eventually turn into a fine man, and for that, he had to learn the hard way how nations evolve. She left her study room and rejoined the children._

"_So, kids, do you know how babies are made in the mortal world?"_

"_Of course we do!" Romano blushed. _

"_So… when two nations meet each other and mix their cultures, just as for the mortals, something new may arise form their union. If that kind of union happens between two male nations, you can't see anything coming before the new kid is right in front of your eyes, claiming for food and attention. But if one of the nations is a woman, you can see that something is taking his its time to grow and develop in her belly. But unlike the mortal women, a she-nation can be pregnant for years, or even decades. The new nation will wait the right time safely in her belly before coming into the world."_

"_But… when the new nation is born, what happens to his parents?"_

_The kid already knew, by meeting the little Greece and Egypt raised by Ottoman Empire, that children nations never live a very long time with their parents. Actually, Flanders was the only nation having children and being still alive to his knowledge. And he started worrying for his friends' father. If France wasn't giving him back, that was maybe because…_

"_We will talk about that tomorrow morning. No child should hear that kind of things before going to bed."_

"_You shouldn't have started explaining from the very beginning, then!" The little Italian protested. "I won't sleep because I will have those disturbing questions in my mind."_

"_Fine, but you won't say I didn't warn you."_

"_Just continue already!"_

_She thought a few moments: "It is the destiny of all new nations to take the place of their parents when they decline, even if it the new one isn't ready yet to grow up." _

"_But what about you, Madam?"_

_Romano had forgotten that, a few centuries ago, she was as small as him and they used to be good friends. Now Flanders was just the scary mother of the Low Countries who rarely left her begijnof. _

"_When I married Burgundy and we decided to become a true big country, I knew that one day, we may have a child who would replace us. Netherlands was born pretty quickly, just after my brothers of the North agreed to become one with us."_

"_What, wait… I thought Burgundy was the father?"_

"_From a technical point of view, Netherlands has inherited far much things from Friesland and Utrecht, who disappeared very quickly after his birth. But then, we had more children, like Picardy and Belgium and then…"_

_Luxembourg shivered. He knew what was next._

"_I used to have a brother called Luxembourg's County. He was very friendly with Holy Roman Empire. But a hundred years ago, he caught a very bad cold. We tried to save him by annexing him, but one morning… he was gone. When I entered the room where he was supposed to rest, there was an adorable little kid on his bed, but him was nowhere to be found. I supposed he was reborn as a new entity, so we called the little kid Luxembourg in his memory and raised him as our son."_

_Romano turned and looked at his friend._

"_So, you are living your second life? Cool!"_

"_I don't know if it is that cool… It is very disturbing. But that doesn't explain why my mum is still there when all the others are gone."_

"_It is up to our citizen to decide if they are Belgian, Spanish or Flemish." She answered with resignation. "As long as they think I do exist, I won't disappear. But they need me less and less. Maybe one day, my children will be able to stand on their own and become true and independent countries. That day, even if I have to disappear for good, I won't have regret because my children fulfilled my dream."_

"_Let's not think about that. No-one can tell what the future is about." Belgium interrupted her._

"_Don't you dare give up my dream, you ungrateful daughter!" Flanders replied. _

_Luxembourg tried to change the subject: "Back to the Gallic Wars, who do you think is the baby Gaul was waiting; Papa Bourgogne or Uncle France?"_

_Romano applauded him friend. What a subtle way to change the mood!_

_Flanders blushed._

"_I don't know. Maybe she was waiting both of them. They so look like twins."_

* * *

Far away from Gaul, some mysterious persons were having a secret meeting.

"So, he met you because he was having troubles with a reborn nation… it looks like his new girlfriends monopolize all of his attention."

"How dares he ignore us like that, after all what happened between us?"

"What do these stupid farmers have more than us?"

"Yes, my friends. Those vulgar girls are trying to steal Rome from us. Are we going to let that happens?"

"Of course not!"

"We are going to get Rome back! His place is with us."

* * *

**Something tells me that Rome is about to be caught up by his past.**

**I must admit I imagined this twist in the drama just yesterday… Maybe I will use more than twelve chapters to end the story…**

**Flanders? Ready to die? Good joke. She will bury us all.**

**That wasn't the most interesting chapter, but I swear the next one will have intrigues and battles.**


	20. How I met the Black One

**Hello everyone. **

**This time, we are back with the fights. I will try ending Britannia's second campaign in the two next chapters.**

* * *

**Chapter nineteen: How I met the Black One.**

The building of our camp wasn't over yet that a violent storm suddenly started. The tents were tore apart, the equipment was blown away and, of course, the entire fleet was destroyed. Britannia had sent her beloved dragon a little too late, but she still managed to make a lot of damages. Luckily, there weren't too many wounded persons and none of my "guests" were injured.

"It looks like Britannia and the Blue One are in top shape!" Armorica smirked.

"And that she's refusing the negotiations." Belgica added.

"Be more positive, girls! You're not going home before we settle things with your dear sister." I ordered them. Those two had decided to ruin the mood. Belgica wanted to get a revenge on me and Armorica liked the witch too much to let me invade her without doing anything. I was really thinking to throw them to jail until the end of the campaign before they become really troublesome. But if I was doing that, how could I earn the trust and the respect of the others? I did brought them here as hostages, but I wanted them to believe I just wanted to improve our relations. In other words, I had to stay patient and kind but the wildcat and the sailor (that's the nickname I found for Armorica) did everything to make me loose my temper.

Since we had lost a lot of supplies, Caesar sent many troops to gather food and feed in the countryside, but only three of them came back. They reported the Britons ambushed most of them and that they barely escaped them.

"This time, they have found the strategy that suits them best: ambushes and skirmishes."

There were a lot of woods in this area and Britannia's warriors had a thousand places where they could hide themselves or spy on us. It looked very difficult.

"Where should we concentrate our strengths? The environment is not to our advantage. It looks impossible to control."

"We must capture some natives or follow them… but both ideas are very dangerous."

So, my general staff didn't know how to proceed. The Britons looked more cunning than in the others areas of Gallic's territory. We all knew we didn't have to underestimate them. The best idea we had until now was to send some spies to find where their main quarters stood. If only we could catch their leaders…

And so, after two days of deliberations, I was ordered to ask Britannia's closest sisters to help me locate her. In a way, I guessed it was easier to convince a lion to eat grass. I decided to resort to trickery. I gave two different tents to Armorica and Belgica. The wildcat's one was near the harbour and Armorica's tent was near the fences and the forest. I was expecting the two of them to make a move because they weren't in their best environment. The first to give up was Armorica. After only three hours, she sneaked out of the camp. I followed her carefully. I was aware she had some magical powers and that she could summon some of the same creatures than her sister. If any of them saw me, then I was done. I just hoped she underestimated my ability to "see" the magical creatures.

After ten minutes of walk, she met a few "fairies", as Belgica described them a few months ago. Right after that, I lost sight of her.

Crap, everything was lost. Ant then, I saw a huge bird settling on a branch near me. It was a magnificent peregrine falcon. I guessed it was Taranis, Belgica's bird.

"So, what do you want?"

The falcon didn't answer. Of course he wouldn't; how could a bird talk? But he flew a few yards north. I followed him. I knew I was taking a lot of risk. It wasn't like last time when Belgica was targeted by Germania. Why would her falcon help me find Armorica and Britannia? But I knew the wildcat wasn't an idiot and I was curious to know why she was doing this.

I followed the bird during three hours. After this time, I found a stronghold in the middle of the woods. There were many warriors with strange blue paintings on their skin wandering around the walls. I also saw a few fairies and I was also sure I heard a dragon groaning. For a reason I didn't explained, Belgica's falcon showed me the way to Britannia's head-quarters.

After that discovery, the campaign became much easier. The warriors were still strong and scary. The strange blue paintings on their bodies were magic. Gaul explained me Britannia used painting in pastel tones to boost the abilities of her soldiers. According to the drawings, the fighters could be stronger, could better stand the pain, have more stamina or more luck… In other words, our enemy was far much stronger than the last time we faced them. Britannia was really serious for this second campaign. But now we knew the place where we had to concentrate our strengths.

With organisation, we manage to expend our control to territories north of our original camp. In the open countryside, Britannia's army did not make the weight, even with magic. We gained ground everyday, and in the same time, the falcon kept showing me where to strike.

After three months of battle, we reached a huge river the natives called the "Tames". We had finally found Britannia's Headquarters. According to our scouts, it was the stronghold of Cassivellaunus, her main leader. The tribe's leaders of the witch had elected the most terrifying of them to lead the resistance but we managed to drive him into a corner. I felt relieved. The summer had just begun and I could already see victory. I decided it was time to ask Gaul to negotiate with her sister.

One morning, I skipped discreetly into her tent and woke her up with a kiss.

"Hello, My lovely Promised Land." I used to call her like that since a few months.

"Hello, my mighty conqueror…"

She grabbed my arm and pulled me by her side on her bed.

"Do you know you have more and more muscles everyday, little boy?"

"Do you know I love you a little more everyday, my Promised Land?"

"How sweet… you sure have learned how to talk to girls." And she kissed me in return. I caressed her belly. "I did not expect that kind of thing would happen so soon… I mean, I …"

She put a finger on my lips and kissed me one more time in my neck.

"You talk to much, little boy."

"Gaul, please, I have something important to tell you."

"It can't wait a little hour, just one tiny little hour?"

"It is about Britannia."

"Not romantic at all!" She moaned. "So you want to do "it" with both of us at the same time?"

"That's not like it!" For some strange reason, Gaul was always interpreting things the erotic way. I thought that her power of love was for something there.

"I mean… my army has drove Cassivellaunus, Britannia's leader, into a corner. The war may end very soon. I don't want to hurt her more than it is necessary. Do you think you can convince her to negotiate now?"

"And what are yours conditions?"

"Just start by asking hers. It may go better that way."

"I am not sure you can make a proper conquer that way."

"I don't think my boss knows what he really wants with Britannia. All what he needs is a victory that will makes him looks even greater."

"All those deaths for so few?"

"So few? Gaul, I am on the hedge of a civil war! He needs those victories to keep the status-quo with his rivals. I need my three bosses to stay in equal strengths."

"Then why are you focusing only on Caesar's conquests? According to Belgica and Gallo-Roman, your dear Marcus Crassus is in such a death end he decided to attack Parthia…"

"That's a lie! He's not attacking Parthian Empire! He doesn't need more glory. He's already the general who defeated Spartacus and my richest citizen. If he had decided to attack Parthia, Caesar or at least my Mediterranean provinces would have warned me."

"The thing is everybody knows except you. Gallo-Roman heard about it while working in your capital and told it to your Gallic mercenaries who told it to us."

That was right; Caesar had recruited a lot of mercenaries in every corner of his new conquered lands. So that was how the sisters were so well informed. But why did none of my own citizen inform me about Crassus' initiative? Why was it Gaul and Belgica who informed me and not Caesar or Egypt? Yes, I had seen Egypt during the winter. If a war was about to start near her boundaries, she should have known. But she was only talking about "throwing a curse" on Parthia.

"Show me your hand!" Gaul ordered me. Before I could do anything, she grabbed my hand wrapped in bandages. She removed them and watched at the dark colours which were spreading again.

"You are such an idiot! Why didn't you tell it in the first place?"

"Because some people may think I am becoming weaker. So, are you going to help me establish a peace's treaty with your sister or not?"

"Fine, but to one condition; after this campaign, you are going to settle down, stop conquering lands and focus on healing your wounds. I don't want my children to grow without ever knowing their father."

She was using her pregnancy again. It made me uncomfortable. Of course I wanted to be a good father, but I…

At that very moment, a soldier penetrated the tent. He stopped when he saw me in such romantic company and mumbled excuses, but he didn't leave us. I guessed my sweet morning was over.

"It better be important."

"Lord Rome, Britannia is attacking us!"

"What?"

"A huge barbarian army is hidden in the forest near the camp. Our soldiers can't get out without being ambushed. And one of those giant lizards is there too.

"Which colour?" Gaul asked.

"What?"

"What is the colour of the dragon?" She repeated her question.

"Black! He was the scariest think I have seen in my entire life."

"Is it dangerous, Gaul?" I asked her.

"He's crazy dangerous, but once his stomach is full, he may go to sleep for a few decades, so it is Britannia's joker. If this assault doesn't work, then she will be out of resources. It will be the right time to negotiate."

I sighted. The end of the war was near, but I wasn't sure I would be the winner. I ran to the wall where all my soldiers were taking their position. It was bad. The most of the troops were besieging Cassivellaunus' stronghold. I had only ten cohorts there. I doubted it would be enough.

"What's going on there?"

Aquitania and Belgica had joined me on the covered way.

"Well, your dear sister decided to risk everything by attacking our camp, harbour and fleet."

"And?" Belgica didn't look impressed. It was like she didn't care of the situation.

"And I have only ten cohorts here and my scouts tell me the Black One is hidden with the enemy in the woods."

Belgica smirked. "She really let her most gluttonous dragon walk near her army?"

"Is there something I don't know yet about that creature?"

"It is a walking stomach! That creature was born with the purpose to hunt and to eat. I doubt the Black One will wait quietly in the woods without touching to the humans near him."

"He would eat Britons as well?"

"Of course he would. All humans taste the same, even if Romans are less digestible because of their armours."

I grinned. I had a great idea.

"I don't like the face you're making." The wildcat warned me.

I ignored her and called a centurion. "Prepare the cavalry. Tell them to take spears"

"What? Are you planning to…"

"Just take a seat and watch."

* * *

**About Marcus Crassus and Spartacus (who earned the honour of being described in one of Hiramuya's strips): The gladiator managed to kick Rome's ass for three years. The main reason of his victories was that Rome didn't realise he was commanding an army of one hundred thousand man. The roman aristocracy didn't think slaves could be smart and organised. But after losing two legions, they finally asked Marcus Crassus to catch Spartacus. He settled things very quickly because he didn't want Pompey to steal him all the glory… and that's how the indomitable Spartacus played a role in the creation of Caesar's Triumvirate.**


	21. How the campaign ended

**Hello everyone, sorry for the long wait. **

**That chapter was especially difficult to write because I wanted it to have many different scenes and I had to write it again and over again in order to have something that satisfied me.**

**I hope you will enjoy it.**

**Your reviews are always more than welcome.**

* * *

**Chapter twenty: How the campaign ended.**

A few minutes later, we could hear screams coming from the woods. The Black One was hungry indeed. We waited five more minutes and the warriors ran of the woods, tailed by the most terrifying monster I could have imagined. The creature had the shape of a chicken, but with a black skin instead of feathers and huge arms with sharp claws instead of the fluffy wings. And the "chicken" had no beak, but a row of teeth similar to daggers. I should add the creature was also high as our walls and I was sure that if he charged our main gate, he could destroy it in a few seconds … Okay, I didn't expect the creature to be "that scary".

"Belgica, one last question, does it breathe fire like the Red One?"

"He doesn't need to. His huge size, speed and teeth do all the work. How are you planning to protect us?"

"You just wait! But maybe you shouldn't stay on the wall. You all have the right to wait…" I stopped. I was about to tell them to wait near the harbour, but something told me that they may well escape by sea at the first occasion. That's what I would have done if I was in their place. And I didn't forget Armorica that I threw to jail after her return from her little outsourcing. She couldn't escape anywhere.

"… Everywhere you want, as long as it is not in my way."

And I abandoned them. I gathered all the centurions to give them my orders. My plan might still work. All the infantrymen had to gather on the wall in order to secure the camp. The cavalry would follow me. My men looked at me with horror when they realised we were going to fight the monster.

"It doesn't look faster than a horse. We can keep him at a distance and distract him."

I quickly explained the horsemen what I expected from them. They were terrified, but they trusted me with their live and were ready to follow me. I smiled. I was so proud of them. I definitively had the best army in the world! I ordered them to get on their horses. We had to act before the barbarians reached the wall.

"To my command, open the main gate!"

"Wait! You aren't serious!"

Aquitania, Narbonensis and Gaul had arrived. I bet they had heard my strategy.

"That's completely crazy!" The Mediterranean girl said.

"And that's why it will work." I answered.

"You are going to be eaten." Aquitania threatened me.

"We won't!"

I turned to the soldiers keeping the gate.

"Open!"

"Rome, No!" I heard Gaul crying. I saw Belgica wrapping her arms around her older sister. I shouted one last time to my horsemen. "Remember, never stop galloping."

"Like hell we will stop." A man tried to laugh.

"Go!"

And the thirty riders dashed in the battlefield, following me.

The Britons warriors were still at two hundred yards of the camp, and the scary dragon was still behind them, forcing them to rush without rest. When they saw us, some the barbarians stopped. The monster immediately devoured one of them. Geez, what was Britannia thinking? That creature was crushing her own troops. It wasn't the place to summon such a freak.

"Left!" I ordered, waving the appropriate hand. My riders followed me. The army in front of us didn't understood what was happening, but after a few seconds and another man caught by the dragon, they continue to run toward the camp, exactly as I expected them to do. They must have received the order to bring the dragon to the wall of our camp, regardless the sacrifices. I ordered once again a change of direction. We had to catch the monster's attention, but first, pass-by the enemy.

After a few minutes of riding, I could tell the enemies weren't as many as I thought they were. They weren't more than twelve thousand. We could do it… so, while the enemy was still charging towards the camp because the dragon didn't gave them a chance to do anything else, my cavalry was making a huge curve and arrived in their back.

"First lances, threw your spears on the dragon!"

Only once spear wounded the creature but it turned around toward us, furious.

"To the North!" I shouted.

And we ran in that direction, tailed by the monster.

"It is working, but how much time must we distract him?" One of the riders asked.

"Enough time for the barbarians to forget us."

"What if the monster catches us?"

"Every time he catches something, he stops for a few seconds. It earns us time to distance it. If you don't want to be his next prey, just whip your horse."

And the ride continued for fifteen minutes. Inexorably, the monster gained ground. One of the mounts ran out…

"My lord, the dragon has got Caius!"

"Okay, new change of direction!" And I waved my hand to the right. The monster was so busy with its catch we succeeded the operation without any concern. But I wasn't planning to feed it with my men. I ordered some of my riders to throw new spears to the dragon. This time, it got injured three times. Being disturbed during its meal made him more than furious.

"To the camp!" I shouted. The Black One roared and hunted us one more time. But this time, the horses were exhausted and scared. The monster caught us up more quickly. I heard someone screaming and a horse neighing. "Courage! We are almost there!" I tried to cheer up my men. The creature stopped only for a few seconds and continued to pursue us, but I noticed one of the spears hampered him in his race.

In front of us, we could see the barbarians besieging the camp. I was sure my troops could hold on, if it wasn't for the Black One. Britannia must have summoned him in order to break our wooden main gate. So, I had done the right thing by attracting him far from the battlefield. I had saved my wood fences and the Briton army deployed around them. They seemed to have forgotten about us. It was just perfect! Never an improvised strategy had worked so well.

"Prepare for the charge formation! And I hope you all remember what to do next! We don't have the right to fail" I didn't add that the fate of the entire Britannia's campaign was relying on the next ten minutes. My men didn't need more stress.

And we formed four lines with the remaining riders. Would those barbarians really believe we were going to charge them in spite of the fact that monster was still on our heels? In my head, I started to count "five minutes before the impact". The dragon roared in my back. It was close, but it was better this way.

The roaring was heard in the barbarian troops. Many warriors gathered with their spears and their forks in order to repel us. They fell for the trick. It would have been more troublesome for us if we had to manoeuvre near the fence. "Three minutes before the impact". I glanced at the fences. I could see a bunch of blond heads. The Gallic sisters were all on the covered way. Geez, they were completely thoughtless. Did they really want to be hurt? "One minute before the impact". The barbarian still hadn't shot any arrow. What a chance! Maybe they didn't want to upset the dragon more than he already was. I warned my riders: "To my signal". Impact in fifteen… fourteen…thirteen… Mars, don't betray me now… Five… Four… Three… Two… "NOW!"

And the troop split in two parts; one to the left and the other to the right. We were so much synchronized we managed to manoeuvre at only two yards of the enemies weapons without getting any scratch. The Black One, surprised, didn't manage to follow us and rushed into the Briton army.

I heard a lot of screams. Then, there was a big green light… I turned my head. The dragon had disappeared. A few seconds after that, the sound of a horn resounded. It looked like the retreat's signal for Britannia's troops. I waved my right hand. I had won the battle.

One hour latter, when the cavalry could make a triumphal entrance in the camp, I tried to find my sweet Gallic hostages. It was very difficult because all my soldiers wanted to greet me and start a real banquet. I had to wait one other hour before I could escape them. I ran to Gaul's tent, where I was welcomed by a punch in the face.

"You're the biggest idiot the world has ever known!" Gaul shouted.

"Sis, calm down!" Narbonensis and Aquitania were trying to hold her back.

"Okay… what happened here?" I asked while checking if my nose wasn't broken.

"A stupid suicidal operation happened." Gaul continued. "How could you do that to us? I told you I wanted my children to know their father."

"Please, Gaul, I was just great on the battlefield. That suicidal operation was a huge success and I bet the campaign is going to end pretty soon."

Gaul escaped her sisters grip and pushed me again in the stomach.

"You idiot! You idiot! Never do that ever again."

"Okay! I understood. You were sick worried about me. But it is fine now. I won! The war is over."

She finally grabbed my face and kissed me. "My lovely idiot…"

And while she was crying in my arms, the other girls applauded me.

"I must admit that cavalry of yours was very impressive." Armorica said. Wait a second, she had escaped jail? Whatever, the war was over. "The Gallic cavalry would never have made a success of such an operation. Being able to split your group in such a short time required an incredible coordination."

"Let's face it. He's invincible on an open battlefield." Belgica added.

"So what's now?" Aquitania asked.

"We make a party, of course." Belgica announced with a grin. "I brought a barrel of hydromel." Here, I was astonished. The wildcat was finally smiling. She had stopped sulking. It was definitively a perfect victory if I had managed to win back her admiration.

"Yeah! Hydromel! Let's start the partyyy!"

* * *

"_Hola, Belgium, Romano! I am back!"_

_The young nations stopped reading to focus on the voice coming from the corridor._

"_Why did he only say your names?" Luxembourg mumbled._

"_Maybe that's because he's not sure you are here." His sister tried to console him._

"_Let's ignore him and continue the story." Netherlands said with a cold voice._

"_But it is fine. We are reaching the end of a chapter. We can continue later."_

"_But…"_

_Romano moved from his seat and hid behind a sofa._

"_See? He doesn't want to see Spain either." Her brother smirked._

"_You're wrong, brother. He…"_

_The door opened._

"_Here you are!"_

"_You're late, you bastard!"_

_And without any warning, Romano jumped on the newcomer and inflicted him a violent head butt on his stomach. _

"_That must have been painful." Netherlands noticed. _

"_No I… am… fine…" The young man with a tanned skin, brown curled hair and green eyes answered with a forced smile._

"_If it wasn't enough to knock you off, I can continue!" Romano shouted._

_Belgium couldn't avoid laughing._

"_Hem… big sis, what's so fun with Sir Spain being beaten by his henchman?" Her little brother asked._

"_Well, you know, with the end of the chapter where Gaul punched Rome because she has been too much worried… Romano is reacting exactly the same way and that's crazy cute."_

"_Yeah, my tiny tomato is the cutest nation del mundo!" And Spain succeeded in hugging the Southern Italy's representative._

"_Release me at once, you bastard!" The little one struggled furiously._

"_What a moving scene." Netherlands said with his emotionless voice._

"_Spain, how much time are you going to stay here?" Belgium asked._

"_As much as I can, I missed you all so much!"_

"_That's too much honour." Netherlands mumbled._

"_So, what if we went to the kitchen?" Spain asked. "I have eaten anything since this morning."_

"_I bet I can be there before you, you bastard!" Romano managed to escape the Spanish's grip and ran to the corridor._

"_Wait, Roma!"_

_And he dashed in his pursuit._

"_I am going too." Luxembourg announced. And he left as well._

"_It looks like the castle is going to be noisy these next few days." Belgica smiled._

"_That Spain is such an idiot." Her brother said. "It is just like Rome, how can he think we are already accepting him in our family? And about Southern Italy, how dares he do as the sack of Rome never happened?"_

"_Netherlands, please. There is a time were all nations need to pass on other things."_

"_Say what you want, but from my point of view, nations who think forgiveness can come so easily are exposed to big troubles. A fake smile can hide so many things."_

"_You are thinking to the smile of Belgica at the end of the chapter?"_

"_Yes." And Netherlands grinned. On his face, grins were especially scary._

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**Nothing very special about that chapter.**

**Yes, I tasted Hydromel (one of the oldest drinks in the world) last week, and I think that drink is worth his title of "nectar of the gods" (Called that way in both Greek and Nordic mythology).**

**I know Hiramuya never drew Netherlands' smiling face, but I figure his grin must look pretty much like Russia's one. (Shits are coming.)**


	22. How the banquet took place

**Hello everyone and welcome back.**

**This chapter hasn't many historical elements. I wrote it especially for fun. Since I told at the beginning of the story I would present you the parents and grand-parents of European and Mediterranean's actual nations, I thought it was the perfect moment to introduce some of them. And I think of the new OC character since the beginning of the story as well. **

**Enjoy the reading!**

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**Chapter twenty-one: How the banquet took place.**

When Britannia's leader learned that the assault on the camp near the coast failed, he decided to surrender and negotiate peace. A few days later, Caesar organised a huge banquet where all of the tribes' leaders from Britannia and the other Gallic sisters were invited. He wanted to sign the peace treaty with Cassivellaunus in front of all of them for his propaganda.

I didn't pay much attention to that. I was busy with a hydromel's degustation. The girls wanted me to elect the best hydromel's producer. It wasn't a common drink at home. Greece had always told me it was the drink of the gods and that it was sacred. So, I only drank that beverage during important religious ceremonies, and it was always Greece's own production. I used to think hydromel always tasted the same, but the Gallic sisters made me discover an entire new world of flavours. Gaul's one was made with lavender's honey, Britannia's one had a very high rate of alcohol, Belgica's one was very sweet… But then, Armorica had the clever idea to present her mug with a plate of pancakes. The combination was just perfect. I started to understand why Greece had called it "the nectar of the gods". And so, I declared Armorica was the victor. Her sisters were jealous and accused her of cheating.

I laughed. Of course, with six mugs of hydromel… It has been a long time since I had been so happy. Pretty girls, a good drink, a well deserved peace…

"What a shameful show!"

We all stopped our activities. A little group of three pretty ladies and an adorable little kid had made their entrance. I immediately recognized them and almost choked. What were they doing here? It wasn't either the place or the time.

"Rome, do you know those intruders?" Gaul asked with an icy voice.

"Well, you know…"

"Well, well, isn't that Gaul. You don't recognise me? When I think I shared some of my sophisticated culture with you a few centuries ago."

"Sorry, I don't remember people I haven't hurt."

"So, your sisters and you are still so vulgar, violent and illiterate."

"And proud of it!" My blond savage shouted with a smirk.

"Rome, for the gods sake, who are those bitches?" Belgica asked me with an angry voice. She was drunk and something told me that at that very moment, she was dangerous.

"The bitch is called Greece!" The lady with a bun of brown hair held by golden threads said. She was a little older than me, dressed with a beautiful dress tinged in blue. I used to call her "Mommy" because she had taught me almost everything. She taught me to read and write, rhetoric, art, music… And that was why she still had a lot of influence on me.

The others intruders presented themselves. One of them was Egypt, the immortal witch I had seen eight months sooner. She was always so radiant with her tanned skin, her make-up and her long braided hair. En then was the most beautiful of them, a lady who also looked a little older than me, but with long black curled hair, perfects curves and the most beautiful blue eyes on earth. Her name was…

"Illyria, I am Rome's first love."

"And I am Gaul, Rome's 'first time'. It's a pleasure to meet you." But her voice was still icy.

"So am I". Illyria answered her on the same tone. My heart's beats accelerated. Even if I couldn't read their minds, I knew all those girls were suddenly full with jealousy and were ready to kill each other.

"… And this is Rome and I's daughter: Dalmatia."

And I looked at the adorable little girl who was a tiny version of Illyria, with her long black hair and her blue eyes and was hiding behind her mother. My cute Dalmatia… I couldn't avoid hugging her.

"Rome… does it mean you are ALREADY a father?" Gaul was still smiling, but her aura became more and more dark.

"You already are a daddy and you keep flirting with other girls and ignore your own children? You're such a jerk!" Belgica scolded me. "I can't believe you blamed me for going out with Frisi when you already have so many ex-girlfriends!"

"We aren't his ex! We are his provinces!" Greece corrected. "And if Rome is so strong today, it is thanks to us."

I tried to interfere before everything degenerates.

"Hem, girls, you didn't come there just to pick up a fight my new friends, don't you?"

"Oh yeah, that's right." Egypt said. She took a papyrus' scroll out of her pocket and gave it to me.

"I was ordered to deliver a message to Caesar. It is very important so I couldn't afford to wait you stop playing with your new conquered lands. Hurry and give it to him."

"And you needed Greece and Illyria to come with you?"

"They are really disappointed you didn't pay them a visit those last six years. Actually, what do these vulgar and illiterate girls have more than us?"

"Who are you calling an illiterate girl?" Britannia interfered.

"And did you at least notice I helped you in your campaign?"

"What?"

"Don't you remember my falcon?"

And the memory of the bird helping me to find the Britons hide-outs came to my mind. It wasn't Belgica's bird? It belonged to Egypt?

"Are you telling me I lost the battle because of you?" Britannia threatened the immortal witch. It started looking really bad. I knew both Egypt and Britannia were powerful witches but I didn't want to know who was the most fearsome. That papyrus' scroll was the perfect excuse to leave all those dangerous ladies.

"Thank you for travelling so far, Egypt. I shall deliver the scroll right away."

"Rome! Stay here! Take your responsibilities." Both Gaul and Illyria yelled at me, but I managed to run away.

After a few minutes, I finally shook them off. I sat on a barrel and opened the scroll. Whatever the news were, I was curious to know which kind of news were more important to deliver to Caesar ratter than Crassus who was supposed to fight near Egypt's borders.

"_We regret to announce you the death of Marcus Crassus. He was killed in an ambush while fighting Parthia."_

I dropped the scroll. It was definitively the worst news Egypt could deliver me. My wounded hand itched again. Now, I had only two leaders, Caesar and Pompey. Since Julia who was the link between the two guys was also dead; I was in right to wonder how much time my Triumvirate would hold on.

I glanced one more time to the place where the girls had started to fight. Britannia had summon her Flying Mint Thing and ordered him to attack Egypt. Gaul and Illyria had started a hand-to-hand fight and Belgica was using all her wilderness against the wisdom of Greece. How did it end up this way?

"Hem, love-boy, what happened here?" I turned toward the new voice. To my surprise, I discovered Germania. He was alone and unarmed. Who did he manage to infiltrate the camp?

"What are you doing here? Do you want to fight?" And I took a defensive position.

"You didn't answer my question. I won't answer to you before you do."

"That's just a shock of civilisations. Now, what are you doing here?"

"Your boss organised a show, isn't it? I came to watch it. Why in Niflhel did you gather so many female nations at the same place? Do you want to summon the Ragnarok or something?"

"That's not my fault! My boss wanted to gather them in order to…" I stopped. I realised he was trying to make me talk. "Just go play in the tartaros and leave me alone."

"Alone? When you suddenly decided to capture all of my female neighbours? That's not how the world works."

There was a white light. A dragon as white as snow and looking like a swan appeared in the sky. Another creature with the body of an eagle and a women's head appeared as well and the two creatures started a fight. The girls were furious.

"They are lively today…" Germania noticed.

"What are you waiting to take them back, if you want them so much?"

"I am not stupid enough to interfere in a girls' quarrel. But I will come back, you can be sure of it."

"Fine, if you just don't want to fight, get lost!"

"We will meet again very soon and this time, you will loose."

"Nice program. Now leave, I have some work to do."

I watched him leave the place. He really made me nervous. The meeting had reminded me I still had enemies. Damn it! It wasn't the time. I was at the edge of a new civil war. Republics are such unreliable politic systems. People should never create a state with two rulers and make everyone believe they can become one of them. How much time would Caesar and Pompey stay allies? And in the case of a civil war, how could I be able to protect my new territories? Germania would definitively jump on the occasion.

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"_Poor daddy Rome. Controlling such a huge territory is such a burden." Spain said._

_The Iberian nation was now with sitting with the Low Countries, his cute Romano on his knees and was also listening to the story. _

"_You know something about it, right?" Netherlands smirked._

"_England pursues me on the seven seas and that bad looser of France asked for the help of Ottoman Empire to attack my Mediterranean positions."_

_Romano shivered. He had barely escaped the masked nation thanks to Spain a few years before. It was for that reason Spain sent him to Brussels._

"_Don't worry my little tomato. The boss is there and he will protect you." And without waiting for an answer from the little boy, he gave him a big hug." The Italian nation tried to struggle._

"_It makes me think of the old Rome telling the same thing to his wildcat…" Netherlands said with his emotionless voice. _

"_What's wrong with that? Rome gave the PAX ROMANA to his provinces for almost two hundred years."_

"_Yeah, and after that, Germania…"_

"_Don't spoil the story, Netherlands!" Her sister scolded him._

"_What? The story is about the Gallic Wars, not Rome's last days."_

"_Big brother! Don't say another word!" _

"_It's fine." Spain said with a sad smile. "I know I can't afford to release my guard. They are plenty of nations who, just like Germania, wait for the good moment. That's the price of glory. As soon as I get weaker, they will all try to capture my new allies from the new world, Far-East and you in the process. We are too rich and powerful together for not arousing jealousy."_

"_Congratulation for ruining the mood, big bro." Luxembourg greeted him. "Can't you just stop reminding us we could be attacked at any moment? I want to sleep al least one night without having nightmare."_

"_Don't tell me you plan on relying on him every time you will be in trouble! You may be small now, but you need to stand on your own if you want to grow up. The Southern dude won't always be there for you."_

"_Netherlands, please!" Belgium interfered. "It is neither Spain nor Luxembourg's fault! We can't decide such things. We have to rely on our citizen and our leaders."_

"_Geez, never mind." He got up and went to the door._

"_If you need me, I will be in the garden. After all, I don't need to read what's coming next in the story. I know it by heart."_

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**All my Belgian readers know what Neddy's last line was about. Don't worry, guys. What you were waiting for since almost ten chapters is about to come.**

**About Illyria; she was one of Rome's closest neighbours. She just lived on the other side of the Adriatic Sea. Her territory covered the Western part of the Balkan peninsula and countries like Slovenia, Croatia, or Albania. I imagine she's very beautiful because I already went to Croatia, and even without the old Roman ruins and the Venetian architecture, that country has such gorgeous landscapes and natural wonders I consider it as one of the most beautiful countries in the world. If you get the chance to pick one destination in Europe, I recommend you Croatia, a heaven for tourists. Back to Illyria; She was the first territory Rome conquered outside of the Italian peninsula. That's why I call her Rome's fist love. Gaul is Rome's first time because she laid him in 390 BC during the episode of MAE VICTIS.**

**Illyria became a roman province during the 2****nd**** century BC and will be divided in two territories: Pannonia and Dalmatia (the last one was the cute little girl Rome hugged.).**

**In the real Gallic Wars, Marcus crassus dies one year later, but I thought that for the story, I guessed it was better placing it here.**

**Niflhel and Tartaros are, in the Nordic mythology and in the Roman one, the darkest places of their respective hells. (I don't think all the celtic folks on Germania's territory shared the same faiths, but since Wagner used the Nordic gods in his opera "der Ring des Nibelungen", I decided Germania was sharing the same culture than his brother Scandinavia.**

**Your reviews are always more than welcome, even if it concern my bad english.**


	23. How I met a traitor

**Hello everyone. The chapter is already there! It was very easy. I thought of that chapter since the very beginning of the story. **

**Enjoy the story. I never liked it more than now.**

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**Chapter twenty-two: How I met a traitor.**

After the armistice concluded with Britannia's representatives and the row between my former and my new provinces, Caesar decided it was time to return on the continent. The summer was almost ending and it was time for the harvests. I had to let the Gallic sisters go. My legions also had to take their winter's quarters as well. But as we prepared for the crossing of the Channel, most of the girl fell ill. Gaul, Armorica, Aquitania and Britannia had fever and coughed.

"That's the sign there is something wrong with their economy." I explained to Caesar. "And it's no wonder. We took most of their leaders in hostages, many of their men fought for us in Britannia. In the case for that one, she was at war during half of the year. Of course she didn't have the time to prepare herself for the winter."

"But then, why is Belgica fine? She doesn't even cough. With all the punishments which we imposed to her, she should be as sick as the insular one."

"I don't know. Maybe the weather was fine in her land."

Three days later, we finally returned to Gaul's territory. There, we finally learned what was going on. During our absence, there had been a big drought and the famine had settled down. Belgica was the only one who got enough rain to make descent stocks of food.

"Fine, I guess we have to let the troops on her territory." Caesar announced. Belgica wasn't fine with that.

"Come on, I can't share all of my food with eight legions. If you need food so badly, why don't you go back to the Italian peninsula? Isn't it the most civilised and prosperous area in Europe?"

"Don't complain, Belgica. Germania wait for the moment our troops leave your territory to replace us." I answered.

I couldn't tell her Caesar's true purpose. He didn't want his army to go back to the peninsula because he feared his enemies would try corrupting them in order to decrease his power. And I figured he ordered me to stay with the troops because he didn't want the other senators to get a hand on me. How could I blame him? All that I wanted was that the balance of strengths remains. Caesar's control on the army was his best asset. But of course, I couldn't let Belgica know to what extend the situation was grave.

"Germania, Germania… He's always your ultimate excuse." She complained. "What would you invent if he wasn't there?"

"Enough! My legions will be scattered on your territory and you should better be nice with them."

She left without a word and I thought she resigned herself. One week later, my troops were moving on to their new winter's quarters. They really were everywhere. Some were on Menapii's territory, another one at the Nervii, another at the border of Remi and Treviri… I decided I would spend one week in each of the camps. After two weeks, I was visiting the camp of the fourteenth legion who settled down on Euburones' territory. The leaders of the camp were Quintus Sabinius and Lucius Cotta, two very brave and smart lieutenants.

When I arrived to their camp, they were busy with the feed. Many cohorts were cutting grass in the fields and harvesting fruits in the orchards. That area of Belgica's territory was so fertile, so peaceful. For a few seconds, I forgot all the tricks Belgica's had played on me. She seemed so prosperous, so charming, so welcoming.

And everything crumbled a few minutes later when a barbarians' troop came of nowhere and attacked the cohort in the wheat fields. My soldiers were caught by surprise and many of them weren't even armed. What was happening? Arrows were flying everywhere, killing randomly. Some barbarians were also throwing javelins and we didn't have any shields to protect ourselves.

Thanks the gods, it didn't turn into chaos. One of my soldiers managed to use his horn and a few minutes later, our cavalry chased away the invaders. We didn't have too much losses.

"What in the world were they; Germanic looters?" An injured man asked.

"No, they look too much like the Eburones who brought us food last week." Another one replied.

"What? The Belgian? But they…"

I sighed. I couldn't believe she would rebel again. I though she had calmed down. How could she be so stupid? She knew she was no match for me.

"Anyway…" My lieutenant Lucius Cotta said. "Let's barricade in the camp for now. They may come back."

Everyone approved. We brought back the injured men and the few baskets of food we had harvested. A few hours later, as we were still wondering what did happen, the keepers of the gate warned us a few barbarians were coming this way with a white flag.

My two lieutenants were puzzled. What could those barbarians want? By precaution, they only allowed the leader of the group to enter the camp. They met him in their head-quarters.

I recognised the man. He was one of Belgica's leaders. He was Ambiorix, the young Eburones' chief. So, they were really involved in that previous attack. When only the lieutenants, that Belgian and I were alone in the tent, he explained the situation. The man started by apologizing for the attack. He immediately admitted our aggressors were his men.

"The thing is that a general uprising has just started in Belgica. All the other tribes have decided to attack all your legions at the same time. Many of my men decided to join the fight without even waiting for my order."

We remained silent for a few seconds. It couldn't be true. Belgica couldn't be seriously doing that. My body was still fine. If all of my legions were injured, so should I.

"And now, are you going to order them to fight?" Cotta asked. His interlocutor smiled.

"I won't because I am not an idiot. I don't want them to risk their lives in a war we can't win."

"Is that all?"

"No. I also remember I have a huge debt to Rome and Caesar. Three years ago, The Nervii were forcing us to pay them a tribute. But thanks to your intervention, they can't threaten us anymore and my power in the area increased."

I started to understand what he was getting at. He continued: "I think it is in my interest to remain Rome's ally."

"Do you mean that your men would now fight for us?"

"I don't dare to say that. After all, you are Roman and invaders while the other folks of Belgica are like our brothers. But I still have enough authority to make sure that they won't attack you anymore. The problem is that the others tribes may not understand why I do that. If I don't attack you, they will do it themselves once they have got ridden of the other legions."

"But there is no way they can win against us."

"I am not sure about that." The chief replied. "If each camp is attacked, your legions won't be able to help each other. You were lucky this afternoon. The warriors were disrupted since they had no commander. But the others tribes are crazy serious and…"

He stopped a few second, to better look at us.

"… They hired Germanic mercenaries. They asked some Germanic tribes to fight to their side. They even allowed them to take your stuffs as booty."

That was at that moment I really believed Ambiorix. I remembered Germania's visit three weeks earlier. Then, I got the feeling he was up to something. Maybe he already had an agreement with Belgica and was trying to contact her during the banquet. That girl was a very good actress. I didn't see it coming.

Ambiorix continued: "What you will do now is up to you. As long as you stay here, I won't let anyone hurt you. You have the choice to wait here until your comrade-in-arms fall to the other Belgian tribes or to rescue them."

My lieutenants nodded and remained silent. They both balanced the pros and the cons for staying here. Ambiorix got up from his seat.

"Well, I think I said everything. Please don't forget to say to Caesar I stay his friend."

"One second!" Sabinus said. "If we leave the camp, will you help us?"

"I can arrange so you can cross my territory without any troubles and bring you more supplies. But I am not sure I can convince my men to fight their neighbours for you. They wouldn't understand why they fight their old allies instead of Belgians' enemy."

"And if we grand you more power and more territory, plus the right to ask a tribute from the rebel tribes?"

"That may interest them… but isn't Caesar the only one who can grant me such privileges?" He grinned.

"I think that we understood each other very well. Caesar won't forget the men who saved his army from disaster. He will forget even less those who will help him to calm the area." My old lieutenant replied. "We have to talk about all of this with our officers. We will contact you tomorrow."

"As you wish. One of my messengers will come back tomorrow morning."

He greeted us and left.

May the Gods be blessed for such perfidious guys! If that man wasn't that greedy, Belgica would have been able to cause us many troubles. She certainly didn't know we had learned everything about her plan. We immediately gathered the centurions and other officers and exposed them the situation. Most of them were disturbed by the announcement.

"We have to stay here. It is the safest place." A man declared.

"No! It would mean we are waiting for the enemy to come to us. We must rejoin another camp before it is too late."

"One legion can't fight alone. It needs reinforcements. If we wait here while the other camps are attacked, we may never receive help."

"It is our duty to support other troops."

"Caesar entrusted us the management of this territory. We must not leave it!"

They discussed so for all the night. Leave our camp or not leave it. Outside of it, even with Ambiorix's help, it was still chaos. But staying safe here was cowardice and useless since this area was the safest of Belgica. As down was coming, we finally got an agreement. We had to rejoin the camp of Titis Labienus, the closest one, who was at the border of the Remi and the Treviri.

"You just wait, Belgica. Nobody can rebel against me and escape my wrath."

But how should I punish her? The last ones had the inverse effect.

As my eight thousand soldiers prepared themselves for the departure, I began to think about the measures I should take to calm her once and for all.

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**No extra comments this time. I think I spoiled the story well enough like that. **

**I am still waiting forward to your reviews. **


	24. How I was booby-trapped as a beginner

**Hello everyone and sorry for the long wait. That was a very important chapter and I had to write it right. I deleted some paragraphs and re-write them several times. **

**In the same time, I was really busy last week. My swimming pool was finally ready. We got a new cute little puppy. I had a bachelorette party… But I swear you I couldn't stop thinking of the story.**

**So, enjoy the story. I won't ask for your reviews this time since it never works (but I still wish you review my story.) I thank everyone who follows and like my story.**

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**Chapter twenty-three: How I was booby-trapped as a beginner**

"Lord Rome?"

Cotta's voice brought me back to earth. I realised that while I was dreaming of the day I invaded Belgica, the soldiers had prepared their luggage. They had been incredibly fast.

"We are ready to go, Lord Rome."

I noticed he had an anxious look.

"I have the feeling we are doing a mistake. We should stay here."

"We have already talked about that." I tried to reason with him. "If we stay here, we would be completely useless. We have to help the other camps."

"I know, but I still have a bad feeling about it. I am sure Caesar would order us to keep the fort."

"He's not here. He's on his way to Italy. Even if we sent him a message now, I doubt he will be back before a month."

I got up from my seat. Cotta suddenly blushed and looked away.

"I don't even want to know what you were thinking about!"

I realised my memories of the wildcat exited my body more than expected. How embarrassing…

"Just give me a minute, please."

"Sure…" And he left without waiting for further details.

I managed to hide myself in an abandoned tent and got rid of all my tension. If just those memories could have such an effect on me, what will it be when I capture her again?

Twenty minutes later, we finally left the camp. The eight thousand soldiers formed a long caravan where everyone carried a huge backpack. The heavier luggage was transported on wagons which were pulled by the horses. We organised so we could move as quickly as possible. We were thinking that the sooner we reached Labienus' camp, the better. But with that goal, the soldiers left their weapons and armours on the wagons. Of course, since Ambiorix wished to become Caesar's n°1 partner in Belgica, I doubted something would happen to us before we leave his territory. But who knows… Just like Lucius Cotta, I started having a bad feeling.

The first hours of walk went without incidents. We saw a few farmers who just avoided us, a rider from Ambiorix who had to deliver our answer to his master. There was nothing wrong with that. The countryside was nice. We could see pretty mortals harvesting the trees and somehow, we could smell they were preparing cider and hydromel. I sighted. Belgica shouldn't be that warlike. She was made for being a nice farming and trading area. If only she could admit she needed my help in order to prosper. When I catch her, we will have a very long discussion.

I didn't doubt any second that with a little organisation, I could neutralize her in a few weeks and without many losses. After that, it was my duty to make her a true calmed country, whoever was my boss. I couldn't wait to see the wildcat again.

My wish got granted after three hours of walk. We were crossing a little valley which looked more like a ravine. Slopes were covered with woods, but they seemed abrupt. When the entire troop entered the valley, I was still thinking to what I would say to Belgium in order to calm her… And thirty minutes later, I saw her. A troop of no more than one hundred Belgian warriors was standing in front of us in the middle of the road. the cute Belgica with her golden mane was among them. I couldn't avoid laughing. Was she planning to fight with so few soldiers?

Sabinus joined me.

"I think we should send an envoy. She doesn't have that many men, but she may do some damages in such a narrow space. We should try to reason with her before it becomes too ugly."

And since my head was full of her rural landscapes and that a hundred men weren't that fearsome, I agreed with him. I took part personally in a group of fifteen persons who would play the envoys. Just before the departure, I told my two lieutenants that they had to dispatch the soldiers as much as they could in the valley, in order to frighten the girl. If only it could end there…

When we reached her group, I was surprised to see how calm they were. Of course, they were all holding their weapons, but they didn't look that despaired. I fact, most of them seemed very confident. I found that weird but I tried to look as calm as possible. I did not have to show her the slightest weakness.

I advanced and so did she. She wasn't scared at all. I fact, she had her famous feline smile and she never better deserved her nickname of wildcat.

"Belgica… Someone told me you were planning to do something very stupid."

"What do you call a stupid thing?"

"What you are going to do; an uprising with a derisory number of warriors."

"I am rebelling with a derisory army?"

"Belgica, just open your eyes… I have eight thousand soldiers here. And you have... one… hundred… men."

She grinned. It was absolutely weird. And at that moment, I knew something was going wrong. And first, she was trying to fight us on Eburones' territory. Ambiorix didn't stop her at all.

"How can you tell I have only one hundred warriors? Didn't you learn anything from Helveti and Britannia's campaigns?"

And I remembered the slopes full of soldiers at Octodure and the hideout in Britannia's forests. Something was definitively wrong. I began to shiver but I managed to hide it. I answered Belgica as quickly as I could: "You will never have as mush soldiers as I do, and I know you love trade more than war. You really should think of…"

"Shut up. I am not listening to your crap anymore. I know what are my assets and my weaknesses. I don't need you to tell me what to do. I never needed to. I was fine before you and I still will be fine without you. I can live on my own!"

"By yourself? Didn't you beg for Germania and your dear Frisi's help?"

Her grin took another level of scariness.

"I knew you were stupid, but in such a way… Rome dear, the Eubornes were the only rebelling tribe since the very beginning."

And just as she said that, we heard screams coming from the rearguard. They were attacked. Before I could do anything, something hit me on the shoulder: an arrow. They were falling like rain on the vanguard. A huge army was going out of the woods. And I finally understood I had been trapped. Ambiorix wasn't Caesar's friend at all. He tricked us in order to lead us in a place where his troops may catch us completely unprepared.

"That's dirty, Belgica! History will remember you as a traitor and a cheater!"

"That's a question of point of view. I think I will always remember Ambiorix as the hero who freed me from Rome's yoke. I told you I would try harder next time. I am sure that in ten centuries, my folk will always be proud of how hard we fought for our freedom."

"You may win here, but that won't be enough. As soon as my other legions learn your betrayal, my whole army will crush you. Stop before it is too late."

"I know what I am doing." She answered quietly. "That's why you will be the only one kept alive."

My heart started to race. I understood she wasn't planning to make any prisoners. She wanted to slaughter all of my soldiers. My envoys understood what was going on and tried to rejoin the troop, but they were shot by the archers. I felt myself an awful pain in my left leg. I realised too late that my left calf had been deeply wounded. Belgica had thrown her axe on me. I fell to the ground. I wasn't able to stand with such a wound.

"You are going to watch the fight from here." She said.

"Let them go!" I begged.

"You didn't let go several hundred thousand innocent citizen on all Gallic territory. You enslaved women and children, killed farmers just because they wanted to protect the land where they lived. Those last four years, you tortured me, plundered me, raped me, stole what I had produced with hard work and you are expecting me to have mercy? World doesn't work like that. I want you to suffer. I want you to cry…"

I tried to strike her with my short sword but she easily dodged and she punched me. I felt to the ground once again. She planted her axe in my back. I gave a cry of pain.

"It is useless, Rome. This time, the link between nation and his folk works in my favour. I have twenty thousand men and they have surrounded your unprepared troops. You are as hopeless as them."

She was unfortunately right. As a nation, I could share the feelings of my soldiers in the ravine. Most of them were petrified. They all knew they would die here. I could see Sabinus running to each cohort to give them orders but none of them seemed to listen. Some soldiers were trying to get their weapons in the luggage, but were shot before reaching them. My most painful sight was to see that some men were using their daggers to kill themselves.

"Enough, Belgica. Stop it. I beg of you." An I felt a tear flowing along my cheek.

She kicked me on the face.

"Shut up and look."

She grabbed my hair and forced me to look in one direction. I could see Sabinus trying to negotiate with Ambiorix. He advanced naïvely and without his weapons to the barbarian chief. After a little discussion, I saw the traitor beheading my lieutenant. It was all too much. In a last desperate attempt, I tried to strike her with my sword. I gave her just a scratch. She replied with a punch in my stomach. I fell once again. Everyting started turning around me. I could see Lucius Cotta and a bunch of soldiers taking a defensive position. Belgica kneeled and whispered to my ear.

"He's brave. He reminds me of me. He will fight to the death… But unlike you and me, he's a mortal."

A few moments later, Belgian warriors surrounded my last soldiers. The pain was too strong and I collapsed.

* * *

**That event is called the battle of Aduatuca (Don't ask me why historians chosed that name. Aduatuci's territory is supposed to be Southern East from the battlefield.) During that battle, the fourteenth legion leaded by Quintus Sabinus and Lucius Cotta was surrounded in a ravine that archaeologist think to be the valley of the Geert in Belgium, near the town of Tongeren (Tongres in French) which was established a few years later on Eburones' main oppidum. **

**During that battle, the two lieutenants Sabinus and Cotta were killed alongside eight thousand Roman warriors. It was Caesar's worse defeat during the Gallic wars.**


	25. How she made a mistake

**Hello everyone! Here is a new chapter.**

******I have bad news. I am really busy with work this week because I have to finish a lot of things before to go on holliday (in France, Pyrénées), so, I don't think I will be able to publish a new chapter before the second week of July.**

* * *

**Chapter 24: How she made a mistake.**

"_Netherlands? What are you doing?"_

_The Dutch nation hid his pipe in his jacket. His sister did not approve of his new habits and he was certain that if the Spanish idiot saw him smoking, he would report it to Belgium._

"_That's none of your business. Go away."_

_But the Spanish guy joined him in the garden, smiling. That stupid smile was one of the things that irritated the most Netherlands. He told him once again to leave before he becomes violent._

"_Please, why don't we do something together, between grown men…?"_

"_Why are you so annoying today? Weren't you reading the story with the kids and my sister?"_

"_Well, I think we are going to stop for a while. Roma was quite shocked with Aduatuca's bloodbath."_

"_That's not a bloodbath, it is a battle." Netherlands corrected him._

"_Please, Rome's soldiers were disarmed and totally unprepared. It remembers me of the Nochte Triste when Aztec tried to sacrifice me at the top of one of his pyramids. That was the scariest moment of my life."_

_Netherlands raised an eyebrow. That was a story he had never heard before. Spain never talked about the battles he had in the new world. He just talked about their food and strange customs. Did he hide something from them? Well, of course Netherlands was sure that the moron had created a huge mess there. How can a man who can't control himself in front of gold not do something stupid to a country were you can find the precious metal in rivers' bed? He sighed. The idiot was definitively having his own "Gallic wars" in the new world. Spain needed to talk and even if the Dutch nation hated his voice, he let him talk because he started thinking he might learn something interesting. Who knows? Maybe he could try to go to the New World or the Spice Islands all by himself in the future._

_And during the next hour, Spain talked about New World's folks. He declared most of them were really primitive, for not calling them barbarians. There was only one true nation in that area. The other tribes had young and weak representative who were too scared to fight against the fearsome Aztec nation. They were people who were wandering half naked and they were afraid of horses. But the scariest part of all was that all of them were still doing human sacrifices. Spain was convicted he had the holly mission to put an end to those barbarian customs. Netherlands sighed once again. The moron was exactly as Rome during his Gallic Wars; he was convinced that it was his duty to bring them civilisation, although Aztec did not seem interested in his enlightenment. Spain thought it was normal to educate the natives by making them his servants and taking away their resources. _

_So, Netherlands wasn't surprised to hear Aztec had tried to capture Spain and his conquistadors in his capital by destroying the bridges that the Spanish might have use to escape. But the most stupid thing in that event was that the Spanish had tried to run away with the gold they had stole and that most of them drowned themselves in the lagoon because they were too heavy. The only noticeable difference with the Aduatuca's battle of his grandmother was that if Belgica brought her victims a quick and "almost" painless death, Aztec had a far much creepier idea. He was planning to capture the most conquistadors a possible and bring them to his pyramid for his bloody sacrifices. Spain had been caught up but one of his men saved him by scarifying himself. That night seemed to have traumatize Spain as he called it the "Noche Triste"._

"_And when did it happen? Why didn't you tell us about it?"_

"_It was in 1520, so, ten years ago. I didn't want to scare neither Belgium nor Romano. Belgium hates violence and Luxembourg and Romano are yet so innocent."_

_Netherlands needed a lot of self control for avoiding strangling Spain. That was what he hated the most about him. That idiot was always persuaded the Benelux countries were weaklings who needed his protection. He used that excuse to take most of the decisions by himself… He took a deep breath. He needed to know what had happened to Aztec after that famous night. If Spain really behaved in the New World like Rome did with Belgica and the other rebels, he was worried for that Aztec guy, even if he had debatable religious practices._

_But just as he asked the question, a bell announced lunch time._

"_Great!" Spain smiled. "I can't wait to make you discover all the funny food I brought back from the New World!"_

"_Come back here, je ruk! For once you had something interesting to say."_

* * *

I was running through a dark forest. I was scared. I needed light. I wanted to find an exit or, at least, a clearing. En then, I finally found one. I ran to it… And I opened my eyes.

I immediately realised I had an awful headache and that my shoulder, my left hand and calf were hurting. And I remembered what happened to me. I had been booby-trapped as a beginner by Belgica. One of her tribes' leaders had told me she was preparing a rebellion but that he didn't want to be part of it. He suggested we moved to another camp in order to join our forces. But it was a lie. He was the one leading the rebellion and he trapped us in a ravine. I remember seeing my soldiers falling one after another… Wait? Where was I? Why as I still alive? How did it end?

I noticed I was lying in a wagon and that wagon was moving. My first thought was to think that somehow, we were rescued and that my saviours were carrying me with care. But then, I realised that I was tied up and that the people around me were speaking Gallic languages. I was a prisoner. A few moments later, someone jumped into the chariot.

"Is my dear conqueror going well?"

"Belgica…" I recognised the traitor. She was dressed for the fight. So, all that disaster wasn't a dream. I was her prisoner. She examined my wounds and changed my bandages.

"What are you doing? Didn't you want to torture me?"

"It is all part of my plan." She answered quietly.

"Where are we going?" She didn't answer. She was just checking if my injuries were healing well. After that, she forced me to drink something that had a strange sweet taste.

"It will make you feel groggy, but that will help you handle the pain."

"Why are you…" But I fell asleep right away.

When I woke up, the troop had stopped. I heard voices talking in Latin.

"…They were all dead. That guy was the only one left…"

I had an awful headache so I didn't understand what was going on. Then, the chariot moved and for some strange reason, I started feel a little better. I heard new voices.

"A German army destroyed our territory and annihilated the fourteenth legion. They left to the Southeast. I think they will target the Treviri and the legion protecting it next. I doubt they will hold for a very long time. You have to come and help us."

"Is he the only one who survived?" That voice was familiar…

"He was the only one alive when we arrived. The Germans caught us by surprise. They went directly for the Roman camps and we didn't have the time to prepare ourselves."

What was going on? It didn't happen like that at all. After a few other minutes, I realised that the man who was talking was that Ambiorix's traitor. He repeated them the same lies in order to make them leave the camp. He was trying to settle the same trap. I knew that in Nervii's area, the rivers were surrounded by huge cliffs. My soldiers wouldn't be able to escape at all. That guy was a monster. I had to warn my soldiers, but I wasn't able to move. The drug was still effective.

"… tied him up because he was too nervous. He's still in shock and tries to hurt himself."

That was Belgica's voice. What a bitch. How could she make such lies so easily?

"Thank you for your help and your warning. We will take care of the matter."

That was Quintus Cicero's voice. I was on Nervii's territory and in the camp of the seventh legion. Then, the Belgian tried to take me away. They said they had some places well known for their druids and healers. Cicero refused. He was convinced that our doctors would be more than enough. I detected some irritation in his voice. My heart raced. I had the feeling he had understood what was going on. If only I could talk…

Negotiations continued for a few minutes, but my dear Quintus Cicero kept me into the camp. At first, I felt relieved because I was sure I was safe with them. But a few minutes later, I thought of Belgica's strategy. If she couldn't force my soldiers to get out of the camp, what would she do? The answer was quite obvious to me. She would attack us.

My body was still not obeying to me. I was fully awake but I couldn't even move my lips. What kind of drink did she give to me? The soldiers moved me to a tent in order to let me rest. A healer came and checked my wounds. "They are healing very well… it is almost unbelievable. I have seen many wounded in my live but I never saw someone recovering so quickly, and from such injuries. The only one that looks bad is the one on the left hand. Your hand is completely black. If you were a normal patient, I would amputate you at once. But the boss said that… Well… that you're some kind of immortal god?" I wished I could smile and answer him, but I was still paralysed. The doctor cleaned my wounds, changed my bandages and told me to rest before leaving. I remained alone for half an hour. Then, my body started hurting again. I had a new headache and my wounds itched me once more. The pain was so unbearable I move my arm to … I could move once again! I tried to fell over. I hit the ground. I heard a scream escaping from my mouth. A few seconds later, two soldiers came into the tent.

"Lord Rome, calm down! What's wrong?"

"You should rest. Lady Belgica said you were too agitated and that you were …"

I closed my eyes and sighed. That traitor had done her job pretty well. If I tried to move a little more, my own men would tie me up, believing I had become mad. I tried to speak, but I still wasn't able to pronounce something edible. One of the men told the other to go look for Cicero. He was convinced my lieutenant would find the right words to calm me down. My heart raced once again. That smart man would definitively understand what I was trying to say. So I let the other soldier to put me back on bed.

He arrived ten minutes later and ordered his men to leave us alone. He sat next to me.

"Lord Rome, don't overdo it, please." But after seeing my face, he changed his strategy.

"You can't talk yet, but you can move. It is more than enough to communicate."

I heaved a sigh in relief.

"I am going to ask you a few questions. You will have to answer them by "yes" of by "no". For the "yes", nod your head. For the "no", just wave it. Can you do that?"

I nodded. What a smart guy! We were saved.

"I will begin. Were the German the ones who attacked you?"

"No."

"It was Belgica, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"I don't understand why she brought you back to us, then…Is she planning to trick us?"

I nodded once again.

"What is she planning to do? Is she trying to lead us in an ambush?"

I gave him a positive answer. A few minutes later, Cicero knew everything he needed to know.

"Thank you, Lord Rome. You can rest now. The sooner you recover the better. I will take measures to protect our camp and send messengers to the other legions."

And he left. I finally allowed me to sleep. I knew I could trust this guy. Belgica had made the mistake to underestimate him just as she did with my healing abilities. But I also knew the worse was yet to come. If her first plan failed, Belgica and her warriors would definitively change their strategy and besiege us.

* * *

**One year ago, I read the chronicles written by Bernal Diaz del Castillo, one of the conquistadors who accompanied Hernán Cortès during his conquest of Mexico. Somehow, it really made me think of the Gallic Wars. It looked pretty much like it (_warning, black humour_): one civilised folk which come from very far away to bring the joys of civilisation to plenty of "barbarian folks" with weird customs, and an incalculable number of wealth which wait only for them, plus some political intrigues and some people ready to sacrifice everything and everyone in order to become the only ruler of this new land… **

**History repeats…**


	26. How I make a reference

**Hello everyone! I hope you missed me very much because I did miss you. I wrote that chapter during my holidays in France. I must say that the fact I visited some Roman ruins inspired me a lot. (I visited some ruins of a city which was established by Pompey, Caesar's "ally")… **

**About that chapter… It is also one of the chapters I thought of the longest. I fact, when I read the "Gallic wars" in February in order to get some inspiration, there was a paragraph which caught my attention. I could just say "What the …" and burst in laugh. You will understand why by reading what's coming now.**

* * *

**Chapter 25: How I make a reference to the series "Rome"**

When I woke up a few hours later, I could hear agitation in the camp. I was aching all over but I didn't really feel my injuries anymore. I touched the place where an arrow hit my shoulder. The wound was gone… I really healed pretty fast. I tried to get up but moving was still too painful. Even so, I still figured that I would recover quickly.

I paid attention to the noise. I finally realised it was the sound of battle. I tried to get up once again, but it was still too painful.

"Is someone there?" I called. I sighed in relief. At least, know, I could speak. What was that weird drug Belgica gave me? A soldier entered the tent almost immediately.

"Lord Rome! Are you feeling better?"

I explained I was able to talk, but not to move. I also asked him what was going on outside. He didn't know either. He was ordered to stay by my side. He only knew that the Belgian didn't wait a very long time before attacking the camp, but since the soldiers were on their guard, their surprised attack failed. I nodded. If the Belgian attack had succeeded, the soldier and I wouldn't be able to have a chat like that. It would already be chaos.

"Do you think you can bring Cicero, or a least one of the centurions here?"

I really needed to know what was going on. I couldn't stand the idea of lying in a bed while everyone was fighting. As their nation, I had to be with them. Otherwise, Belgica would have the advantage again.

Ten minutes later, a centurion called Lucius Vorenus came. He explained me the situation. The barbarians surrounded the camp and they attacked the camp every hour before retreating. Until now, we were able to repeal them, but everyone knew it could not last eternally. Sooner or later, the men would be too tired and our reserves of food would not last more than one week. Ambiorix's goal was to exhaust us and prevent us from escaping. Lucius Vorenus was convinced we could not take it alone.

"But you send messengers to the other camps, right? Cicero told me he would do it."

"Yes, he did. But I wonder if they really managed to cross the enemy lines. Let's just hope they did."

After those explanations, I tried to convince the centurion to let me join the fight. It was difficult because Cicero had given Vorenus the order to let me rest and it seemed that he was the kind of guy who obeyed blindly to the orders. The negotiations lasted for half an hour. I tried to explain him why I had to stand near the soldiers, but a mere mortal like him couldn't understand anything of the link between citizen and their nation. I explained him that my presence on the battlefield would encourage them but the centurion thought on the contrary that they would be demoralized even more if they saw me in such a state.

"Geez, would you rather have a weak god or no god at all?"

He sighed and finally gave up. He carried me to the wall.

"Thanks dude, I owe you one."

"You don't owe me anything. It is just that… one of my colleague is just like you. He was sick, but even so I couldn't stop him from fighting."

"You must introduce me to him, then. I have to thank him too."

And I thought that if I still had some soldiers like that guy, maybe I could do something interesting with him.

Ten minutes later, we finally were in the middle of the action. My men were running all directions. It rained arrows and there were already many wounded persons. Just as I expected, most of them seemed desperate. I couldn't blame them. At that time, they all had learned about the fourteenth legion and knew the same fate was upon them. They were fighting for their lives.

We quickly found Quintus Cicero who was dispatching new troops on the wall. He was quiet furious to see us.

"I thought I told you to rest. You are no use to us if you can't fight."

He began to irritate me.

"I am far much more than a warrior, you mere mortal! I am those men's heart and soul. If I give up, so will they."

Cicero seemed puzzled for a few seconds. Geez, it wasn't the time. Many soldiers were now looking at us. They knew their fate depended on the outcome of our conversation. My lieutenant finally realised that and sighed.

"Fine! Do whatever you want, but I won't free you if you get captured again. I will have other troubles to deal with then."

I smiled and the lieutenant returned on the wall.

"Great, he even gave me free movement."

I saw Lucius Vorenus who seemed as puzzled as Cicero.

"Just what are you, Lord Rome?"

"It's not the time for those silly questions. Bring me your buddy who likes to fight so much."

"Why? I don't get it."

"Cicero's job is to protect the camp. Mine is to stimulate everyone. And for that, I need your friend."

Vorenus sighted. He told me to sit down while he was looking for him. I obeyed. I didn't want to show it, but that little walk had exhausted me.

After the centurion left, I started thinking to my strategy. The plan seemed quiet simple. I needed my "hero" to make something heroic in front of everyone else. It would encourage them. Where that complicates is to know how and when we should make that "heroic thing".

As I was thinking to my plan, Vorenus came back with a guy taller than him by a head. He was a real giant with muscles everywhere, a true bloody gladiator. My heart started racing. He was fucking perfect!

"Sorry for the delay. He didn't want to leave the battlefield."

"It better be important." The new-comer mumbled.

"Titus, please. You're in front of Lord Rome."

I ignore their argument and questioned my "gladiator": "What's your name, my lad?"

"Since I don't like the nickname "lad", I will recommend you my true name "Titus Pullo".

He was a little bit insolent, but it would be still fine.

"Well, Titus¸ your friend told me … »

"Please allow me to interrupt you there, my lord. Vorenus is not what I call a friend."

"Can't you just shut up once in your damned life?" The not-so-friend replied.

"… So, he told me that just like me, you couldn't stand the idea of being left behind."

"I would not put it that way… but since the seventh legion needed everyone to fight, my place wasn't at the infirmary."

"And how do you feel now?"

"I never felt so well, my lord."

"How much barbarians did you kill since the beginning of the siege?"

"I don't know. I always stop counting after the fifth, otherwise I may become tired. But I didn't kill a lot this time because they are not really trying to enter the camp. They only use the scales as decoy to better throw spears and arrows at us."

"So everyone has the same impression."

"Yes. The Belgian must be convinced we won't be able to escape them. So they take their time to exhaust us."

"I see. I will ask you one last question before you go back to the wall. If I ask you to save your strengths for once special moment, would you listen to me?"

He raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

"Sooner of later, we will need to make an exit. Well, I highly doubt it will come before two or three days. But when the time comes, I want you to accompany me on the first line."

"Just the two of us between so much barbarian?"

"That's kinda that…"

"Didn't you just escape death? Why risking your life again?"

"I am not planning to die. I am planning to kick some ass."

Titus smirked. "That's a crazy plan, but I like it. I will survive until you call me. But now, if you would excuse me, I need to warm up a little."

"It is fine with me. Take care of yourself."

And the giant left.

"You can't be serious!" Vorenus said. "It is a suicide mission."

Two days had passed by since the conversation with Titus Pullo, and the centurion who became my bodyguard, kept trying to make me change my mind. Unfortunately for him, I was more and more determined. A few hours before, Belgica and Ambiorix had exposed a few head on spikes. It was the heads of our messengers, all our messengers. When my men understood no-one was coming to save us, most of them fell into despair. To cheer them up had become essential. But the Belgian didn't come near our fences since that event. Making our exit was meaningless for the moment.

"Who's talking about a suicide mission?" Cicero appeared. He was as exhausted as the others, but had kept his fighting spirit.

"I am not planning to do a suicide mission. I want to try a little exit and kill many barbarians in front of our men in order to give them hope. And don't say that's stupid. The current morale of our troops is our biggest weak point."

"I didn't say it was stupid. In fact, I was thinking of something similar."

I started liking him again.

"In fact, I thing we should combine our two plans. Come with me to my tent."

Vorenus and I followed him. In the lieutenant's tent, there were two other centurions and a barbarian slave.

"Let's start this meeting immediately", Cicero said. "As you all know it, our scouts and messengers were killed without having the time to deliver our message."

Everyone nodded.

"We need to warn the other legions, and I have thought of a new plan."

He turned to the slave.

"Your name is Avarix, right?"

The slave nodded, but I could see in eyes he still was a wild animal. I couldn't avoid thinking Cicero was making a mistake by using that guy.

"From now on, you are free."

The barbarian was amazed. Cicero continued.

"You can leave the camp whenever you want, return to your family and live like you did before being captured… However, if you manage to deliver the message I will give to you, I swear you will become a rich and powerful man."

"That's all?" Avarix asked?

"Being rich in Belgica is one thing, being rich in Rome is a totally other thing." I told him. I knew our salvation was relying on that guy. Since he was a Gaul, he could travel around Gallic's territory without being arrested. But it also meant we were not on the same side. Five minutes ago, he still was our slave. And I couldn't forget Ambiorix had tricked me by pretending being greedy. We now had to make him join our side.

"Being rich at my place means to live in a villa as big as an entire village, with your own thermal baths, and with one hundred servants who work for you…" (I avoided using the word "slave").

"You can spend the entire day to play, eat or sing…", Cicero added.

"Get all the women you want…" Another centurion continued.

"Having everything you want and you won't need to work…" I added. Well, there were many things I didn't like with my rich citizen, but right now, I had to forget about that. We continued to describe my richest citizen's life. I could see Avarix had started hesitating. He was realising the life at my place was a hundred time more pleasant than in the uncivilised province of Belgica.

"And what proof do I have you will keep your word?"

He wasn't that stupid.

"If I survive this siege, I will personally cover you with gold. You just have to come back with the reinforcement."

"And if the other officers don't believe me?"

"I will give you a letter with my seal. It will be the proof you are my messenger and under my protection."

After a few minutes, the Gaul finally agreed to do the job. That matter solved, we discussed about the way of making him leave the camp without drawing attention.

At the dawn of the fourth day of siege, the Belgian had decided it was time to use a ram in order to smash our main gate. It was the occasion we were waiting for. I had fully recovered and had the best armours and weapons I could find in the camp. Titus Pullo had done the same thing. And to my surprise, Lucius Vorenus also volunteered for the mission.

"Stay out of this, you kind doggie. You have a wife and children." Pullo tried to dissuade him.

"Shut up, you idiot. I am lord Rome's bodyguard. You won't steal me my hour of glory.

"And you won't steal mine! I bet I can kill ten enemies more than you."

"In your dreams!"

"Guys, can you please focus?" Cicero complained. "We are going to open the gate in twenty seconds."

"Where is Avarix?"

"He is at the western flank of the camp, ready to sneak out of the camp."

"Fine, we are ready, then!"

And the seconds lasted as long as when I had to race against the black dragon. I wasn't scared at all. In fact, I was overexcited.

"… Two… One… Opening of the gate!"

* * *

**To the ones who have watched the series "Rome", you're not dreaming. They are well Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo, and they are really described in the "Comments on the Gallic Wars" of Julius Ceasar. The general writes that during the siege of the seventh legion's camp, the two centurions jumped out of a hole in the fence and killed many attackers while arguing with each other (I won't say you if they came back alive or not. It would spoil the story). So, yes, the heroes of the series "Rome" really existed and kicked some asses.**


	27. How I almost broke down

**Hello everyone and thank you again for being there and to read my story.**

**I must tell you that the story is almost finished. I think it will end in five or six chapters.**

* * *

**Chapter 26: How I almost broke down. **

The next minutes passed at the same time too fast and too slowly. My two brave centurions and I charged astonished Gauls and started cleaning the area in front of the main gate. The other soldiers came out and managed to capture the ram and bring it inside the camp while another troop was creating a fence of shields in order to protect some others who were rebuilding the gate. But things got more complicated. Belgica quickly appeared on the battlefield and attacked me once again. I was separated from my men and a huge troop of Belgian warriors formed a circle around the two of us. I had to fight the rebellious girl for the third time. Luckily, I got used to her movements and knew how to dodge her fearsome axe which could behead a bull in a single blow.

"You're surprisingly silent today. You used to talk so much the first time we thought." The traitor said.

I got furious.

"I tried to become your friend at that time!"

"You call "that" becoming friend? You arrived with your army, killed my citizen, turned them to slave and stole my resources. It still wasn't enough for you! You separated me from my friends and … You can't imagine how much I hate you!"

"Do you want so much to have me to treat you like an enemy? That's fine with me. Let me show you how I treated Carthage."

Of course, my heart was still confused. Belgica made me angry, but I didn't want to go wild just like I did with Carthage. I knew I had lost my mind at that time and I was scared to turn berserk again. But if she kept provoking me…

I had a glance at the battle going on at the gate. The Gallic warriors had stopped looking at our duel to focus on fighting my soldiers. I saw Pullo being overwhelmed by the barbarians. Vorenus came to the rescue of his friend/rival and killed some warriors in the process. That was quiet a surprise. I didn't expect him to be as strong as the gladiator-like centurion.

"You know you won't hurt me if you keep looking at them?" Belgica scolded me.

"Maybe that's because…" I shut up. I had almost done the mistake to tell her our true plan. Maybe she had said all those things on purpose. Damn it! That girl was such a clever fox! I couldn't let my guard down.

A few moments later, it was the turn of Vorenus to be in trouble and Pullo to save him. Those two were a great team and I could hear soldiers on the wall cheering them up. The plan seemed to be a huge success for the moment. It was time to think of retreat. I managed to escape from Belgica and ran towards my two centurions.

"Just stop that bastard!" I heard her screaming, but it wasn't like a bunch of mortal could stop the mighty Rome.

"You did an awesome job! I can tell people will still be singing your exploit in two thousand years. I will look for it." I said while shaking hand with my two heroes. "The second part of the plan is about to start. Wait for the signal and run to the shields." But the signal was late… The more we killed our enemies, the more they came. Belgica had also rejoined me and tried to provoke me again.

"Don't you dare run away from me, you bastard!"

"I am not running away. I am making a strategic withdrawal."

"You are going to loose and you know it!"

"As long as there is life, there is hope. I still believe in victory. And when that time will come, you better hide to Germania's place!"

Her face was red with anger. A voice behind me warned us that "everything" was finally ready.

"Okay then… RETREAT!"

An entrance appeared in our fence of shields and we rushed in.

"Come back here, you coward!" Belgica screamed, furious.

"In your dreams, wildcat-dear! We are going to wait for…"

"Lord Rome, not another word!" Vorenus warned me.

Crap, I had almost done it again. I was falling for all of her tricks.

Our defensive line retreated as well behind our wood fences and a whole new gate. I could still Belgica shouting "ROOOME, YOU LOOSE NOTHING TO WAIT!" Geez, what a fury! When I think I used to find her cute…

A few minutes later, we had a military meeting. It seemed everything went well. My two heroes and I came back unharmed, we had a very few losses today. We managed to reinforce our gate and we kicked some Belgian asses. The moral was back.

"And what about the other mission?" I asked. Of course, if that mission had failed, everything the centurions and I had done was meaningless.

"I think it has succeeded," Cicero replied. "The barbarians seem to have been fooled with the false escape. The Gaul jumped from the wall, dodged arrows… We saw him talk to some of his comrades en then he disappeared in the woods. Everything we can do now is waiting and to pray for him to deliver our message. "

Yes… waiting … hoping… praying, but would that guy really betray his fellow men?

The next four days were exhausting. We repelled the invaders several times, but their assaults were more and more violent and frequent.

"How much time do you think we can hold on?" I asked to Cicero.

"We have no choice but to do so. You told us they were planning to kill all of us. That means there is no point in surrendering."

"Right."

"However, I can guess everything will be over in less than two days. If the other legions don't come to our rescue before that deadline, we won't have the strength to resist anymore."

I sighted. He was unfortunately right. If only we knew if the other legions were on their way or if they were besiege as well.

A few moments later, a new assault started. As our soldiers were repelling the scales, a new rain of spears and arrow came down on us.

"By Jupiter, they aren't original. That's the same tactics since the very …" His face turned pale.

"What's going on?" I asked him, but I guessed he had seen something. I looked at the crowd of barbarians at the foot of the tower. I also spotted him right away. The Gaul that was sent to warn our comrades was among the warriors.

"No! He didn't do it!"

"He chose the camp of Belgica." Cicero sighted. "So we are doomed!" His voice was shaking. He was about to cry. We heard the traitor shouting: "I see you, dear lieutenant Cicero. Why don't you catch my spear and stop your sufferings?"

But Cicero hung to life and dodged the projectile.

"I talked about two days, but…"

"There is a message fixed on the spear!" a soldier near us noticed.

"WHAT?"

The lieutenant and I saw a piece of parchment well attached to the handle. We hurried up and untied it. A message in Latin was written:

"_We are gathering our legions and are on our way. Hold on until Nonis Octobers, Caesar._"

We read it and read it again. It was so hard to believe. I was the one crying of relief. Was Caesar really in Belgica?

"When is _Nonis Octobers_?" I asked.

"It is the day after tomorrow." He answered. "We can do it!"

"And we will!" I promised.

The day and the next one seemed to last forever, but the letter had given a new energy to all the soldiers. Even if Ambiorix had decided it was time to finish this and prepared for the final assault, we never were so strong. Actually, for a moment, I feared it would arouse her suspicion.

"You think too much, Lord Rome. She's not that clever. It is just you who's usually too naïve." Cicero laughed.

And finally, Nonis Octobers arrived. We had fought all the night and were exhausted. We couldn't hold on very much longer. The sun started to rise. Everyone was praying so it was not their last dawn. The Gaul seemed very confident. Well, they could. They finally managed to make some holes in our walls. They could enter the camp any moment now. Some of them were already singing victorious hymns. But at a moment, their songs were covered by another kind of music; Roman trumpets. I looked at the countryside. A single word came to my lips: "wonderful". And a tear passed by on my check.

There is nothing as wonderful as a cavalry charging at the most needed time.

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**About _Nonis Octobers_: in the Roman calendar, they weren't using references like the "October ther fourth" or "December the twenty-fifth". Each month, they had three special days: the Kalends, the Nones and the Ides and were referring to the others days as "fives days before the Kalends of January", the "day before Nones of October"… But I used the Latin spelling for the story.**

**One last thing: I highly recommend you to watch the abdication of our beloved king Albert II and the coronation of our new King Philip the first on Sunday (July the 21****st**** 2013). **


	28. How did it end up that way?

**Hello everyone, I hope you all have nice holidays (or that you don't have to work too much). **

**Here is a new chapter that was quiet hard to write… Well, the repression that Caesar organised against the Belgian tribes was a very important part of the Gallic Wars, so I had to talk about it, but that's one of the saddest episodes of the book. It was difficult to find a good balance between the violence of the repression and its political aspect.**

**So, please enjoy this new chapter.**

**Oh, and a new very important historical character is about to make his debuts.**

* * *

**Chapter twenty-seven: How did it end up this way?**

The Belgian army was in a total debacle. Caesar's cavalry broke their line without effort. Within a few hours, they were all dispersed and we could finally rest in peace. It was finally over.

All the survivors of the seventh legion's camp got food and drink while the leaders were brought to our great consul's headquarters. Caesar and all his most devoted soldiers were there, at the exception of Quintus Labienus. They explained us that the camp he was controlling on Treviri's land was also attacked by the local tribes and that the army had to move right away to rescue them as well.

I don't really remember what happened next. All kind of contradictory orders and screams started running into my head, but I couldn't focus on any of them. I was just too tired but I needed to think of what to do next. Belgica's project of uprising had not necessarily failed with that siege. She wouldn't be easy to calm down. It was far from being over. My head was aching. As the noise got stronger, pictures started dancing around me, pictures from my city, my senate…

"Lord Rome? What's going on?"

It was the last thing I managed to hear. A few seconds later, I collapsed.

When I woke up, I was laying alone in a tent. I could feel I had only a few citizens near me. What did happen to me? How much time did I sleep? I quickly heard that someone was coming. It was Gaul, as pretty as ever and who still seemed to be five-month pregnant. Well, no wonder. I was a young country, but I knew how are born the baby-nations. Gaul might well be pregnant for an hundred years.

"Hi Rome, do you feel better?"

I did not answer. I did not want to move. I was still tired of all this war and did not want to fight anymore.

"It consoles me. At least, you are not agreeing with him."

It aroused my curiosity.

"What am I not supposed to agree with?" I asked.

"You haven't heard?"

"Please… how much long did I sleep. I remember the headquarter tent, and everyone's talking, but then everything turned dark."

"So you don't know what Caesar is doing?"

"I still have a headache. Can you put some wet cloth on my forehead?"

She sighed and obeyed. The pain was fainting. Gaul healed me kindly. How could I not go better with such good care? Then, she took my cursed hand and removed my bandages. Her face turned blank.

"Rome, do you have any idea of what's going on in your city or in you peninsula?"

"How can I know? Caesar left me in Belgian territory for the winter. I got attacked and couldn't think of anything else than survive your sister's fury. I was trapped and hadn't any news from the outside world. And when it was finally over, I broke down and collapsed. How in the world can I know what are my bosses doing?"

She gave me a sad look and showed me my arm. I froze. The curse had spread almost to the shoulder.

"I know the war against my sister may have a role in the progress of the curse, but it is not just her fault. You won't solve your crisis by using her as a scapegoat."

"Gaul, just as I told you, I don't know what you are talking about. I survived an exhausting siege for ten days. I collapsed right after and I don't have a single idea of what's going on."

"Rome! Your boss has decided to kill Belgica and you dare say you ignore it?"

"What?"

Of course I didn't know a thing about what my consul decided during my convalescence. But during my sleep, I had nightmares about Carthage's death. It must have been a sign.

"Gaul, just tell me what's going on!"

"Your boss ordered three legions to annihilate Eburones' tribe while the others are ravaging the fields of Belgica. He's going to kill my sister just as he did with Tenct…"

She stopped, realising her sister may not have the chance to be reborn just like Tencteri. I saw tears in her eyes. I understood what she was trying to do. I got up and began to get dressed.

"So, do you mean you are begging me for mercy?"

"You don't need to be so rude with her."

"I stop you right there. Belgica and that Ambiorix guy prepared a trap in order to kill eight thousand of my men. She was planning to destroy my legions one after another and the gods know what would have happen if we didn't manage to contact the other camps. I can't underestimate her anymore."

"Rome, don't you see what Caesar is doing to you? He wants to take control of you with his army. By using so much violence on a foreign province, he wants to show everyone that he's able to do that wherever and whenever he wants, even in your peninsula, even in your huge and mighty city. Rome, how much of our people will be sacrificed for his own political goals?"

I shook my head while trying to put back my bandages on my black arm. I didn't want anyone to know to what extend the situation was grave.

"Gaul, Belgica wanted to play in the big league; she's now playing in it. Maybe that now, she's realising what it means to stand on her own."

"You don't have to kill her!"

"Vae Victis, my dear. In the big league, the fate of the looser is ten times worse. But you are right on one point. Caesar's reaction may be the cause of the acceleration of the curse, so I will talk to him… But you know the rules of "nations". We can't go against the will of our rulers."

And I left the tent under the eyes of a scandalized Gaul. One of her men arrived to comfort her. I heard my sweet lover say: "That's useless, Vercingetorix, let's go home…" I didn't realise I had just made my biggest mistake of all the Gallic Wars.

When I finally found Caesar, he was talking with Labienus, Cicero and some other lieutenants. Apparently, things weren't going that well. They explained me the same thing as Gaul; that they planning to exterminate Ambiorix's tribe. They had given orders to the other tribes of Belgica to hand them over every refugees, but since many refused, we had to punish them as well. Caesar paid a special interest to the Treviri which had teamed up with the Eburonnes. Labienus was planning to pursue the leader Indutiomaros and kill him once and for all.

"It doesn't seem like it is going so bad…"

"Well, we tried to pursue the Eburonnes in their forest…"

I understood. I remembered how hard it was to fight in Britannia's woods. To catch Belgian warriors dispersed into the wild was easier said than done.

"We have seen neither Ambiorix nor Belgica since the rescue of the seventh legion," Cicero added.

I sighted. Belgica was furious against me because I was retreating and now she was on the run as well. And knowing her, she would be very difficult to catch. She had already shown me she knew her woods as her pocket. It would take years before catching all of the rebels. So much time and strength wasted.

"Who spoke about catching them?" Caesar said. "We don't have to catch them, we have to kill them. We just can burn the woods or starve them to death. They won't survive that long into the wild."

I frowned. Was he really serious about those massive executions?

Caesar seemed to read into my mind.

"My lord, those barbarians did something unforgettable. Those bloody and dirty barbarians deceived you and trapped an entire legion before slaughtering our fellows without mercy. Those nasty traitors deserve to be treated the same way. We have to do an exemplary punishment in order to teach to all those under-men who are the real masters in this land!"

A few months earlier, I would have totally agreed with him. But now… How could I explain it… Belgica hat put so much determination in her fight for independence that I felt she had earned the right to some respect. But my consul always considered her folk as a bunch of beasts just good to be sold on a slave market. I can't deny I used to think like him before. I thought for a very long time it was normal to enslave the conquered people since they were too weak to stand against me. Slavery used to be very natural to me, but since the resurrection of Tencteri as Gallo-roman, or maybe since Spartacus' uprising, I realised all those men were worth something. So, I couldn't avoid but feel bad for Belgica, even after all what she did to me. I still blamed her for starting that hopeless uprising, but I had to admit that nothing of this would have ever happen if I never came to this land.

"Lord Rome? Do you hear me?"

I woke up. I was still in my boss's tent. Everyone was looking at me. It seemed like they were waiting for me to say something.

"Sorry, but what did you say?"

Caesar wrinkled.

"I was wondering if you would take part in this operation."

Now I was the one wrinkling. Was he expecting me to be the one executing Belgica?

"Those bastards killed our brothers in the most criminal way; we must get our revenge. Her uprising may well be a sparkle that can flare up the entire Gaul. We must put out that spark. Don't you agree? Personally, I won't rest until Ambiorix dies under my sword."

I finally understood what he was expecting from me. In his plan, I have to murder the wildcat. And after I kill my rebellious province, he will claim himself as my avenger and use that to get a new consul's mandate. What a disgusting plan! I so hated to be a puppet in the hand of this man. But I had no choice. I was HIS country.

"I want to find and arrest Belgica. That's all." I answered carefully.

He smiled and sent me in one of the legions in charge of destroying the Ardennes's forest. I didn't protest. After all, as a nation, I had to obey my leader. But after a few days, I couldn't handle it anymore. We burned nine villages in four days. I saw the soldiers killing old men, raping and cutting off the throat of women… they even threw little children in the houses they sat fire on. They did all of this without hesitation. How was that possible? How could my men do such horrible things? I, their nation, didn't want to be such a monster. I was supposed to be the most civilised country on earth, not the bloodiest one. My black arm itched again. I understood what was going on with my body and why I had collapsed at the end of the seventh legion's siege. My people were strongly divided on the fate which we reserved to Belgica. Some were on Caesar's side and the others were thinking that there had been enough killing like that.

Some memories of Carthage came back to my mind. At that time, I heard some nasty rumours about him. I was even told that he sacrificed children. That's was one of the things which convinced me to kill him, but after the final battle, I didn't find any proof of their stories. After a few years, I understood my leaders manipulated me and told me those false stories in order to turn me into a bloodthirsty beast. Those guys just wanted to control the Mare Nostrum and they didn't care about what was going on into my mind. They didn't see I was turning crazy with all this blood, plundering and this violence. All what mattered to them was to get Sicilia and the monopole of trading roads. None of them worried about the hundreds thousand of peoples I killed… and that I was starting to enjoy the killing…

I watched two soldiers dragging a twelve years old girl out of a bush and trying to get her undressed. That was the straw that broke the camel's back. I didn't want to become the monster Caesar wanted me to be. I drew my sword and I beheaded the two men. The little girl screamed in terror as she was splashed by the blood. I looked at her. She looked at me, too scared to move.

"Listen, poor little thing. I am going to close my eyes and count to five. If you are still there when I reopen them, I will give you a painless death."

And so did I. I closed my eyes, counted, and when I looked around me, the girl was already far away. I watched at the men I had killed. They were my own men. How did it end up this way? It wasn't my fault. All what I wanted was to become friend with the Gallic sisters. I wanted them to live peacefully at my home. I wanted to love them. But it wasn't in Caesar's interest. He needed ferocious enemies to earn more and more fame. I remember how he always tried to convince me that the Gallic Sisters were perfidious… He knew the tribes would start new riots sooner or late, but he didn't strike at the root of evil because it would give him the opportunity to make new slaves, plunder more villages and renew his consul's mandate. Gaul was right. That general I used to like so much had sacrificed Gaul's inhabitants for his own purposes.

I realised I hated Caesar.


	29. How I argued with my boss

**Hello everyone! Here is a new chapter. **

**I know it takes more and more time to write a chapter. My new job takes a lot of time and I am trying to write two stories at the same time. Finally, since I don't want to bungle the story, I take my time to rewrite three or four paragraphs if I think that it isn't good enough.**

**And I really think the story will be over in four or five chapters.**

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**Chapter twenty-eight: How I argued with my boss.**

_Netherlands smirked. Spain had left the room as soon as Belgium started reading the chapter concerning the Romans reprisals. He figured it reminded him some adventures in the new world. Were the nations living there having a difficult time? Netherlands had no doubt about it. Of course, after such an event like the "Noche Triste", Spain's generals had to do something. But did they try to kill that Aztec guy just like Caesar tried with Belgica? Was he already dead? Were there other nations? And actually, that stupid jerk didn't seem really bothered by those reprisals. He was still smiling and there weren't any political troubles in the Iberian Peninsula. The Old Rome, at least, got a backlash with that shadow spreading on his body like the threat of a civil war. The Dutch nation wondered if the Spanish folk knew about what was going on in the New World. If they weren't told, maybe it explained why Spain still managed to have that stupid and innocent smile._

_Later in the evening, the oldest brother of the Benelux siblings put Luxembourg and Romano to bed. After checking there were no squirrels in the room, he decided to go out for a walk. But just as he entered into the garden, he heard someone crying. He followed the noise and found his sister. She was hiding in the middle of bushes and tears had ruined her make-up._

"_Bel? What's wrong?"_

_The girl tried to hide her face, but her brother grabbed her wrists and forced her to look at him._

"_Bel, what's going on? Tell me!"_

_She just cried more._

"_Has that Spanish jerk done something wrong to you? Do you want me to kill him?"_

_Netherlands secretly wished it was Spain's fault. Like this, he might have a good reason to kick his ass._

"_No, don't hurt Spain. He…"_

"_It is his fault, right?"_

"_No! He didn't mean to…"_

_Netherlands was secretly grinning. He had now an occasion to destroy Spain's pretty face. "It won't be enough to avenge the nations of the new world, but it might relieve them. And it will make me feel good as well." He thought. _

_Belgium tried to explain._

"_He just didn't want to… worry me. So he shouted at me and ordered me to leave the bathroom."_

_Netherlands grin disappeared. His sweet and innocent sister was alone with the Spaniard in the bathroom?_

"_I wanted to help him to relax, so I sneaked in the bathroom. But then I saw his back. It had such huge and scary wounds. Spain turned crazy. I think he wants to keep it as a secret. But he should tell us about it. We are supposed to be partners. We can't seriously work together if we keep such secrets from each other. If something is wrong in his country, he must tell us! It may affect us as well."_

_Netherlands sighed. So, his sweet little sis already knew a few things he didn't, just like the fact that Spain was suffering indeed…_

"_And where do you think those injuries come from?" He asked._

"_The Inquisition, I am sure of it…"_

_Netherlands remained silent. Of course, that awful institution. And he understood why his sister was so scared. If they were able to do such damages to their own country, what would they do to their vassals and colonies?_

"_You know, he makes nightmares." Belgium added. "I heard him crying one night so I entered his room. He was sweating in his sleep. When I tried to awake him, he screamed and tried to strike me."_

_Belgium wasn't realising that all the things she said were only aggravating Spain's case. Netherlands was now thinking of drowning him for almost hurting his sister. He also didn't like the idea of his innocent sister entering that jerk's bedroom._

"_He apologised, but he didn't want to say what the nightmares were about. He just asked me to hug him and to stay with him for the night…"_

_Without knowing that her brother was now planning to throw her precious friend through a window, she continued: "He must feel so alone if he tries to keep all that pain for himself. Being alone is such a sad thing. I am afraid about the future if we can't do anything for him." And she snuggled in the arms of his brother. Netherlands' anger disappeared for a moment. He hugged her tenderly. "It is okay, Bel. We are going to find out something. Just go to YOUR bed and sleeps."_

_She nodded and went into the house. Netherlands followed her inside a few minutes later, but then headed toward Spain's room. He still wanted to kick his ass._

* * *

After that incident, I ran away in the woods for one entire week. I just didn't know what to do anymore and wasn't able to face my staff. I had my head full of contradictory thoughts. Some were screaming for revenge against the barbarians and others were saying all of this was wrong. I knew there weren't my own thoughts but the ones of all the people living under my wings… And day after day, the black curse kept spreading into my body. I had black spots on my torso and my legs. For some strange reason, I still could use my abilities at their fullest, but I didn't want to use them for Caesar anymore.

While I was wandering, I heard a strange noise. A few moments later, a huge boar was charging me. Holy crap! It really wasn't the time. I unsheathed my sword and prepared to strike back.

"Obélix! NO!"

The boar and I both stopped. I could recognize this voice between one thousand. I turned my head and saw the wildcat. She was now incredibly pale and thin… Caesar's doing. My stomach lifted.

"Belgica? Why…"

"Just shut the hell up. You can go to hell! I just want Obélix to stay with me until the end."

My heart raced. She knew how grave the situation was.

"Bel, it is not too late. Caesar wants to kill you, but I don't. I will figure out a way to stop him. Just give up now and let…"

"When will you understand that I would rather die than live at your house?" She replied with disgust. "My best consolation is that you may well follow me very soon." And she pointed her axe toward my cursed hand.

"Bel, don't be stupid. Just come with…"

But I couldn't say another word. A herd of boars arrived and attacked me. Belgica used that diversion to disappear.

I sighed. What could I do to stop all of this madness? I figured I wouldn't solve anything alone in this forest, so I finally choose to return to one of my camp.

For some strange reason, the first camp I found was the one where Caesar was staying. When I arrived, he was talking with some barbarian tribes. For one second, I hoped some Belgian tribes had decided to surrender and that the girl would survive. But the next second, I recognized one of the men and I felt like the world was crumbling under my feet. Damn it! Not them as well! Caesar was discussing with Germanic tribes.

I tried to hide, but I was too late. Some centurions had spotted me and they brought me near my General.

"Thanks the Gods, you're alright. We were starting to fear that traitor had captured you again." My old man said.

"Like if she was able to do something now…" I mumbled.

"Anyway, you have a perfect timing. As you can see, I am receiving some delegations coming from Germania."

And I watched at the tall and blond man. His face was still as stoical as ever. I didn't have any clue about his presence here. The consul explained: "I got a good idea to finish this job faster. We are going to allow the Germanic tribes to plunder the villages."

I looked at Germania. Some kind of scary grin appeared on his face.

"Hm, boss… Can I talk to you in private, for one minute?" I asked. If I wanted to take back the control of the situation, it was now of never. My leader hesitated and looked at his men.

"Boss, I need to talk to you now!" I tried to look impressive.

"We are in the middle of a meeting."

"And that's why I need to talk to you before it goes further."

He nodded and offered some drink to our guests in order to make them wait. He followed me in his tent.

"So, what's so important?"

"What in the hell do you think you are doing? You are not only allowing Germania to destroy Belgian villages. You are allowing him to bring an army on a territory I barely control."

"That's the idea. The surviving Belgian will beg at your feet to protect them."

"I can't believe it. Do you still not get it? They started this uprising because they knew you wouldn't protect them. If you do that, I won't be able to earn her trust ever again."

"Times heal a lot of things…"

"Some never heal, but how can a mere mortal like you understand? What will happen to me after your death is none of your business. I may die in a civil war that you created; it still won't be a matter for you. You just want power and wealth. All those deaths are meaningless for you!"

"That's enough! How dare you speak to me like this?" Caesar was now furious. "I made you the biggest, strongest and most famous country on earth!"

"You turned me in a total bastard and more…"

I knew I wasn't supposed to stand against my boss like this. My instinct was telling me "you are going too far", but if I didn't tell him now that I didn't approve of his action, I would never do it.

"I don't want to have a new dictator. Stop all of this nonsense at once or I will consider you as an enemy."

I can't believe I managed to say it. Me, a nation, succeeded in threatening my boss.

Caesar looked at me with stupefaction. I guess he never expected his country, his pet, to lecture him like that.

"So you as well…" His face turned red. "Since twenty years, I had to stand alone against all those perfidious senators who didn't care about you. I did more things for you in six years than they did in sixty. Is that how you reward me for defending the interest of your borders, your folk against those rich conservators?"

"How did you defend their interest? By sending them die on Gaul's battlefield?"

"They didn't die because of me. They died because of those uncivilised barbarians who can't stay quiet for a year. You blame for taking politic seriously? Please, all your senators play like this. If we are in such a situation, it is because of this republic system which is not a democracy since a very long time. I am just fighting to change it! Do you mean you would rather choose those guys who just want to live in a world where nothing ever changes rather than me who fight to change that rotten system?"

"What's telling me your new system will be better? You are scarifying entire tribes in order to reach your goal. I highly doubt you will respect my people once you become a dictator."

"Just wait and see. You will learn I am the ruler you need."

I sighed. That conversation was going nowhere. I couldn't reason with him. It was no wonder. As a nation, I was the one supposed to be influenced by my people, not the contrary. I knew deep in my heart I couldn't do much more. However, I still could protect my borders. I would do everything in my power to prevent Germania from settling on Belgica's territory.

"If you want to be my ruler, just start by sending the Germanic tribes back!" I ordered him. "Don't let them think they can wander as they want on my new territories. They might get used to it."

"Fine, fine… I will tell them we don't need their help in the end. You didn't need to be so rude to tell me that, you know?"

"Come on? Why in the world do I need that guy?"

"My apologises. You seemed so tired. I didn't want to ask too much about you. And I was right. I can see that you are sick of this war. I just wanted to end it as quickly as possible, so we can think of the troubles in the capital... "

Why in Tartaros was that guy so smart? How did he always manage to find the right words to convince me to follow him? Even if I was still furious against him, I agreed to give him one more chance. I stopped worrying about Belgica. All what mattered at that moment was to know if Caesar was able to save me or not.

Later, I saw him sending back the Germanic barbarian. They were not happy at all. They shouted my boss had fooled them. We had to use force to drive them out of the camp. Some of them shouted some curses in their native languages and after half an hour, they left. I sighed in relief; one source of trouble left. But for some strange reason, Germania still had his scary grin. I had a bad feeling about that.

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**The explanations concerning the secret agreement between Caesar and some Germanic tribes will come with the next chapter.**


	30. How it backfired on me

**Hello everyone and sorry for the long wait. I had so many things to do those days.**

**Enjoy your reading!**

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**Chapter twenty-nine: How it backfired on me.**

The next week, I didn't get involve with the fighting. I just sat in my tent and thought about the best way to end this war. I was still wondering if I had made the right choice by trusting Caesar once more. He was the most efficient war leader I ever had. He could protect me from any invader, and I sure needed him to secure my borders which were bigger every year. But I had so much reason not to trust him. So much of my people were against him.

Time passed by and our army earned territory. After a few weeks of battle, we reached the former camp of the fourteenth legion that Lucius Cotta and Quintus Sabinus should never have left. Caesar decided to transform the camp into a little stronghold where we could watch over our treasures and our wounded while the other legions would fight and seek for rebels near the Rhine's border. The site was still in a good shape. Of course, it seemed that the Eburones had visited it. A part of the wall was destroyed. I doubted they found anything interesting here. After all, the fourteenth legion had taken everything valuable in its luggage and it was taken after the bloodbath of "Aduatuca" (as we called it).

We settled there, but Quintus Cicero, who was the leader of the legion, had forbidden to everyone to leave the camp. Since that long and exhausting siege, he didn't feel safe anywhere, even behind the wall of a well fortified camp. He was so afraid of a new attack that he feared he didn't have enough men to protect his new base. And he had the important mission to keep the luggage and booty from the entire Roman army. So, for six days, we weren't allowed to get out. The seventh day, since we had any news of Caesar, that we needed new wooden beams and supplies, he finally allowed half of the men to get out, in search of foods and raw materials to reinforce the wall of the camp.

But just as we were busy with the cutting of the woods, we heard the sound of a horn. A few seconds later, it was screams and battle noises. We understood what it meant: we were under attack. All the men ran to the camp. The barbarians were right behind them. I was astonished. I thought Belgica was exhausted. She seemed so weak the last time I saw her. I never thought she still had enough strength to attack me once again.

I managed to reach the gate just before the soldiers closed it. However, more than two hundred Roman were still outside. We couldn't go to their rescue and I knew all of my men were doomed. We were trapped once again. And things seemed worse this time because we were less numerous, had less supplies and the wall was still under construction.

"I hate to admit it, but she's a smart bitch." I said to Cicero. "She fooled me by making me think she wasn't dangerous anymore and she chose the right moment to attack. I figure she was watching us since a few days."

"In fact, Lord Rome…" He showed me the warriors fighting at the main gate. "They don't look like the barbarians from Nervii's territory. Their clothes and weapons are different."

I had a closer look. He was right. They didn't look like Belgian at all. It wasn't only the cloths and the weapons, but the men in general. They were all tall and blond, just like… And I recognized that bastard. Germania was among the invaders. They weren't Belgian, they were Germanic.

"What in Tartaros? I thought they were targeting the native villages." Cicero wondered.

I sighed. For once, I had understood before him.

"Please. There is almost anything left in their tiny farms. No more warriors, no more food and even less healthy slaves… That's not an attractive booty. But here, there are weapons, cattle, all our war booty and all of this is protected by only one legion."

"I see. That must be far much more interesting for them."

And I thought of Germania's face when he was at Caesar's meeting. He had that disturbing grin. He already knew what would be his real target. Back then, he must have guessed we were not as strong as two years before and that his time had come. I wondered if he had only tried to find Belgica. He wanted her so much at that time, but now she's about to die… I had a sad thought for her. She wanted to find a memorable end, but even her oldest enemy didn't care about her anymore. What a sad way to go.

"Lord Rome, are you listening to me?"

Oops, I forgot to listen to my actual boss.

"Sorry, I was thinking about Germania's purpose… Maybe…"

"He's just here for plundering. I don't think they will try to begin a long siege. I think that if we can hold on until tomorrow, they will give up."

"The question is: do you think we can hold on until tomorrow? We were caught by surprise and our defences are weak."

"The other legions were supposed to be back yesterday. They must be on their way. As soon as the Germanic learn that we are getting reinforcements, they will run away…"

I sighed. The memories of the seventh legion's infernal week ran into my head… How much time should we wait before their arrival? Our fences were damaged. The camp's defence would be very difficult.

Actually, it went relatively well. I can't explain how we did it, because it was really confusing, but we managed to hold them for six hours, at the cost of many wounded. And then, twilight came and the barbarians retreated.

"What's going on?' A soldier asked.

Some watchers at the other side of the camp said other troops were coming from West. They were Roman. Cicero was right once again. They were just looking after an easy booty and gave up as soon as it became too complicated.

Then, I did something really stupid. While all of my men ran to meet the coming legions, I ran the opposite way. I decided to follow Germania. I couldn't get rid of the idea he had given up Belgica a little too quickly. I started to wonder if he wasn't, just as I thought before the battle of Aduatuca, Belgica's ally and that he attacked us in order to help her.

I stole a cloak and a helmet from a dead body and followed the looters. After twenty minutes of walk, they reached a place were they had hidden their own booty; food, cattle, some barrels, a few golden jewels, some female prisoners… They all agreed that wasn't extraordinary, but that it was time to leave. They scattered. In the end, all what remained was Germania and some of his brothers. It seemed they were arguing. I hid behind a rock and tried to spy on them.

"We must retreat. Now that Rome knows what we have done, he will pursue us. Maybe he will even dare to cross the Rhine in order to punish us and to get that Belgian tribe's leader…"

My heart raced a little. Was he talking about that Ambiorix bastard? Germania shook his head.

"Frisi isn't back yet. We can't leave now." He replied.

My heard raced faster. That Frisi guy was Belgica's lover. Maybe he was looking after her. Once again, I felt overprotective about Gaul's cute little sister. There were just no ways that I would let those barbarian bastards take her away.

"Look at him if you want, but we have no time to waste here. We need to protect our borders. We are retreating."

And they did so. Germania remained alone. He stood still for a few minutes, but next, went to a forest. I followed him as discreetly as possible. "My gods please tell me he's looking for Frisi and my wildcat." I prayed.

The shadowing didn't last long. After only thirty minutes of walk, my enemy finally found his little brother, alone in the middle of the wild Ardennes's forest.

"Frisi, we can't wait anymore. The Roman will be there soon."

"I am sure she's nearby. I know she's very close. I have seen her boar several times. But she must me in a bad shape because she's not answering."

"I won't let you be captured because of a dying nation. You are coming with me now!"

"No! I am sure I can find her very soon. Please let me…"

Germania didn't let him finish his sentence. He knocked him down and hoisted him on his shoulder. That was fine with me. If Belgica really was nearby, I would be the one to find her. I waited a few minutes. When I was certain that the Germanic brothers were gone, I went out of my bush and started searching. I knew I wasn't very good with that and worse, the girl knew the forest like her pocket. Was I really able to find her? Even her sweet lover failed to that task.

I wandered in the forest for a very long time. I tried to check the trees and the bushes, since I knew she liked climbing on trees. It wasn't very successful. There were more than one billion trees in that stupid forest. I couldn't check each one of them. And if she was as weak as I expected her to be, maybe she didn't have the strength to climb anymore. Just as I thought of that, I saw a strange mark on a tree. I was not a great hunter, but I knew what it meant. Boars usually pick one single tree in the entire forest to rub against him everyday. And that was that tree. That mark was so huge I was sure that Belgica's pet, Obelisk-or-something was also rubbing his rough fur there. I just had to hide and wait for it. After that, I would just have to follow it.

I picked up a huge tree and climbed on it. And then, I started waiting. Luckily, I didn't have to wait for a very long time. Only thirty minutes later, I saw the beast. The boar was as big as ever and seemed fine. He didn't have troubles to feed himself. He sniffed at the ground for a while. My heart raced. I remembered that stupid animal could follow human scents. What if he smelled mine and ran away? I would have to begin everything again. That boar was my only way to Belgica. I couldn't afford to loose him.

Finally, the boar stopped sniffing and cleaned himself to his favourite tree. After that, he left. I hurried to go down my hiding place and followed it. The sun sat and darkness came. The shadowing was more and more difficult. Eventually, we reached a little cliff. I had visited Belgica's territory well enough to know that plenty of those natural obstacles hid caves and shelters under rocks. I began to hope she was in one of them.

I went along the rock face for a few hundred yards and then, saw a little smoke. There was a fire. I ran into that direction and found the girl sleeping near her dear huge pet. I sighed in relief. Finally…

I came closer. The boar woke up and growled. The girl didn't move. I could see she was even thinner than the week before. It started looking scary.

The boar got up, letting its mistress fall on the ground. I heard a little moan, but she still didn't move. The huge animal growled again. He was trying to impress me, but if he wasn't stupid, he would not fight near Belgica. He could hut her. And I must admit I didn't want to fight that huge monster. I wasn't Hispania who could fight bulls with his bared hands.

"Come on… I don't want to fight. I want to save her. Just let me take care of your mistress."

It still stared at me, but he let me approach.

I put a hand on her throat. Her respiration was weak and her pulse was low. She wasn't fine at all. She was suffering the pangs of death. If she was a mere human, I wouldn't have given her a chance. But since she was a nation, I knew that as long as there is life, there is hope. I took her in my arms.

"It is alright, my sweetie. I am here. I will save you."

"Like hell you will, you bastard. Hand her over to us right now."

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**In order to punish the Belgian, Caesar had invited some Germanic tribes to plunder the native villages. However, those looters quickly understood there weren't many things to steal there. The Roman camps were far much more interesting: cattle, horses, weapons, feed, gold... So, while Cicero's soldiers (which settled in the former camp of the fourteenth legion, the one slaughtered by Ambiorix) were busy with food's gathering, the camp was attacked by the Germanic. The Roman owed their survival to the quick closure of the gate and the return of Caesar's army. The poor soldiers who were still outside didn't survive the attack.**


	31. How I let her go

**Hello everyone! I AM BACK!**

**Yes, I missed you too, but I really had too much work to write two stories at the same time. It will get better in the next weeks. The next chapters will be easier to write, since I am thinking of them since the very beginning of the story. (and people which have read spoilers on Wikipedia also know what's coming next.)**

**So, enjoy this new chapter! And please review, it may cheer me up and help me to write the next chapters faster (but yes, it also means the story will end sooner.)**

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**Chapter thirty: How I let her go**

I felt a sword in my back.

"Don't move or I kill you."

"Don't be stupid, Germania. You and I know that nations don't die with a single blow in the back."

"But that makes them suffer…"

He got a point.

I felt stupid for not thinking that Germania could also use shadowing. He used me. He tricked me.

"You knew since the beginning that I was following you, right?" I asked.

"I thought you were spying on us, so I couldn't say anything in front of the others. When I realised you were gone, I understood that you were not after us, but after the girl. Thank you for finding her for us."

"Us?"

"That's right, you bastard."

I recognised the love-boy's voice. Two against one, and one of my enemies was in love with my captive. It didn't look good.

"Now you are going to turn around and give the girl to Frisi."

"In your dreams!"

I dived to avoid the sword of my enemy. Then, I put Belgica on the ground, grabbed my sword and blocked a new blow.

"Wrong answer!" Germania threatened me. "Now I am really going to slaughter your."

And a sword fight started between him and me. Neither the boar nor Frisi interfered. I guess that Frisi was just waiting that I go away. Then, he could easily take his girlfriend. But like hell it would happen. Belgica was mine.

For the next two minutes, I remained close to my captive. I must admit it was a bit difficult to fight in such a narrow place, but my opponent had the same problems. And I also realised he wasn't using his full strength. When I fought him two years ago, he was far much stronger.

I deflected one of his blows and made him fall next to Belgica. His sword hit the ground near the sick person.

"Idiots! You are not supposed to hurt her." Frisi screamed. He was so worried for his girlfriend. How cute. But it made me want to keep Belgica even more. She never was so valuable to me than now. That was so ironic. She was about to die, skinny and weak, not attractive anymore, but the strongest nations of the continent were still fighting fiercely to claim her.

Our fight became more and more fierce and once again, I became enraged. That guy was so thought I couldn't thing of anything else but destroying him. Inexorably, I repelled him from the cave and forgot that there was someone I needed to protect. So, when I saw that annoying Frisi carrying the wildcat into his arms and running away into the woods, it was far too late. That Germania's jerk was grinning. "Now I know how to defeat you. I just have to wait that you lower your guard. It always happens sooner or later."

I charged Germania, trying to kill him.

"Give her back, you stupid bear! You can't take care of a lady."

"I can see how fine she was with you."

"She's doomed in your uncivilised world."

"Like if she was safe in yours. If I good remember, your boss wanted to kill her."

"That's just an old man. At the next election, he might very well be replaced by some more merciful guy. I am far much organised than you to rescue a dying nation."

"Just give it up. The only way you gave to catch on Frisi is to defeat me."

I knew I wouldn't make him change his mind. My hope to save Belgica before her kidnapper and she crossed the Rhine was weak. After all, I never defeated him in a one-to-one nation-fight before. What were my chances to win today?

We fought like this for a few minutes, but I eventually slid on death leaves and hit my head against rock. I woke up with a huge snout on my face. That stupid boar had tried to wake me up with his own methods. I must admit it was effective. Such an awful smell should be able to wake up dead men. I tried to get rid of him.

"Okay, buddy! I am awake, I am awake!"

The giant Belgian boar growled. I stood up and brushed my cloths. That Germanic bastard had stolen my sword and my armour. There was no way I could pursue them now.

Belgica's huge pet didn't move. He was just starring at me, like if he was waiting for my orders.

"So… buddy, I can't save your mistress if I am armless. Let's go back to the camp. There I can find new weapons and an amour." I also was thinking of taking a waterskin, some food and a horse. To my surprise, the animal followed me obediently. That beast was so weird. Sometimes, it tried to kill me and some other times, it was as kind as a well dressed dog. I wondered what was going on in its head. Was he thinking it was necessary to conclude a truce in order to save Belgica? That was a smart choice and I was glad that I could rely on his sense of smell. But at the same time, having such an intelligent creature near me was a little scary. Animals aren't supposed to be that smart. Maybe it was also thinking of the best way to get rid of me once its mistress would be saved.

We were back to the Aduatuca's camp two hour later. It was night and pitch dark. I was still thinking of how to rescue the Belgian nation when my soldiers found me.

"Lord Rome, where have you been?"

"We were looking for you everywhere!"

"Is that blood on your forehead? What did happen?"

And then, they saw Obélix.

" By Diana, what's that thing?"

"Is that the Erymathian Boar?"

Since it was very difficult to explain them why I concluded a truce with Belgica's pet, I decided to invent a story.

"That's the cousin of the Erymathian boar. That creature is a half-god sent by Diana, mighty ruler of all the forests in order to protect the Ardennes."

They all looked impressed. They were exited by the idea of meeting a real half-god. "Geez, I should be considered as a half-god myself. What a bunch of ungrateful mortals."

While they were glaring at Obélix, a soldier warned me that Caesar was in the head-quarters and that I should go meet him. I agreed. If I wanted to go to the rescue of Belgica, I had to ask my leader's allo… I stopped walking. Caesar? Letting me wander in Germania's territory for a nation he had decided to crush? Of course not. He would be delighted to be freed of her. And if I brought her back, he would order me to execute her after a triumph in my capital. I wouldn't change his mind. That was the kind of victory he needed to renew his mandate. No, I couldn't tell him what happened in the woods. As a nation, I had to support my fellow men.

When I entered the huge tent, my old man and his lieutenants were consulting a map. They reacted just like the soldiers when they saw me. They were all relieved I returned almost without a scratch. They feared the barbarians had captured me again and were discussing about a rescue plan. As they kept asking what happened to me, I improvised a little story, knowing I was lying to my boss.

"I followed Germania into the woods and I managed to find Belgica. Unfortunately, we were attacked by a giant boar. That was a mystical creature sent by the goddess Diana to claim over the forest. That's how I got wounded."

They had sceptical looks, but nobody dared to contradict me. I was the living proof that unnatural things existed. And most of them had seen the kraken in the Channel or the Black One during the second campaign of Britannia. If I told them that Obélix was a creature of the gods sent to support me, they had to believe it.

"And what did happen? How did you come back?"

"I tamed the boar. Since we were both created by the Roman gods, it agreed I was worth being an ally."

"Wait, does that mean that we have a mystical creature on our side now?"

"I won't go that far. His duty is to guard the forest, not to make war. He will spare the Roman who will him give the honours he deserves."

They nodded nervously. It was clear they never expected the gods to interfere in their fight. I realised I had now a huge advantage on them. I continued

"Actually, the holly boar already did something very valuable for us. He killed Belgica."

There was a long silence. Then Caesar asked me to repeat myself.

"It trampled her to death. I saw it with my own eyes. And I am sure she died because her body disappeared in front of me."

That was really a huge lie and maybe I would regret it someday, but right now, all what I wanted was to convince Caesar to stop his reprisals on my province. Yes, for now, I had to make him think she was dead. When he returns to the city, I would organise a commando squad and go get her back. I won't let the old man know about it.

"And what about Ambiorix?"

"What?"

I had completely forgotten that traitor. I should have guess that Caesar would not content himself with just the death of Belgica.

"I haven't seen him. Maybe he's dead as well. By experience, I know a nation don't die if its rulers are still alive and fight."

One more lie, but who cares? Those guys know nothing about nations. They would believe all what I says.

My boss nodded. I did it. I convinced him that Belgica wasn't a threat anymore. He allowed everyone to relax and to drink. I sighed. I managed to stop the slaughtering.

I returned to the entrance of the camp where the "Holy boar" was still waiting for me. Some of my soldiers had brought him food and other presents. Everyone really believed it was the cousin of the legendary Erymathian Boar. They were all convicted that giving him a present would protect them in the weeks to come.

I had to chase them away and lead Obélix in a place where nobody could see or hear us. Then, I did my best to explain him that it wasn't the right time to rescue Belgica and that if I brought her back now, Caesar would capture her and torture her. I begged him to wait for a few months. My boss would return to the peninsula and our rescue mission would be much discreet. I added that I trusted the love-boy to do his best to keep his girlfriend alive. The boar didn't protest. He was just staring at me and I hated to admit I tried to read in his big black eyes. I still didn't know if that beast was my ally or not.

While I was talking to him, he suddenly got nervous and looked at something behind me. I turned back and saw an angry Gaul rushing on me.

She punched me in the face without waiting for my explanations.

"Everywhere in the camp, the soldiers say my little sister is dead!"

" Well that's right, I…"

She kicked me in the stomach.

"Since the very beginning, you were pretending you could protect us!"

" But… wait, she…"

And she kicked me in a very sensitive place. I collapsed on the ground. I had forgotten how strong and dangerous she was.

"My beloved sister died because of you, and she always knew it would happen. Why didn't I listen to her? Why was I stupid enough to think you were a responsible man? You are so despicable. I so hate you!"

Her two last kicks had been so painful that I still couldn't talk.

"Don't trouble yourself with paying me a visit this winter. I don't want to see you. You won't see me for a while."

And she left. Obélix putted his huge snout on my face, convinced it would help me to recover.

"No, no, I am fine! Just go." I protested. "You know, Obélix, maybe that's better that way. If even Gaul thinks her little sister is dead, Caesar will have no choice but to trust me. But in one or two year, if Caesar is distracted with troubles in the city or in another province, I will get Belgica back and everything will be back to normal. I will hide Belgica and she will heal in no time…"

The boar made a little noise that make me thought of the Wildcat favourite line: "You are such an idiot!"

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**The Erymathian Boar: it was a huge monster known for being hunted down by Heraklès during his fourth labour.**

**Yup, Frisi managed to run away with his beloved Belgica. The Roman discovered in their own way that Belgian refugees survived by running away to Britannia and the territories of Batavia and Frisi.**


End file.
